Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: Soldier of ZAFT
by Maileesaeya
Summary: What if Kira had gone to the PLANTs prior to the war? What if he had joined ZAFT? What if he had become the hero to avert the Bloody Valentine itself? Kira-Shiho friendship, pairings undecided. ON PERMANENT HIATUS, POSSIBLY DEAD.
1. Chapter 0: Valentine's Day

**First off: I would like to apologize to all my readers for not updating _The White Queen_. I've been really tired lately, working to maintain the entire house, and now, I'm sick too! The only reason this is being posted is because it was actually written awhile ago, but I was holding off on posting it.**

**Anyways, this is something that was bouncing around in my head for awhile: the idea of how the war would've played out had the Bloody Valentine been averted. I'll talk more at the bottom.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED or any of the associated characters or mecha. I do own the OC Kelly Dones.  
**

* * *

December 29th, Cosmic Era 69, PLANT December One, ZAFT Military Academy

"What the hell…? This is unbelievable!" exclaimed the instructor, looking over the performance records for the top student of the paramilitary organization ZAFT's academy. The student had enrolled only just under three months ago, but he was on the verge of graduation already!

"What is it?" asked his supervisor, stepping forward and looking at the record. His eyes went wide as well. "This is…"

* * *

February 11th, Cosmic Era 70, PLANT Maius Four, HQ of Zaft's First Mobile Battalion

"Those bastards," whispered Shiho Hahnenfuss, eyes on the screen as the Earth Alliance declared war on the PLANTs. "I know things are bad, but this…"

"It is in human nature to fight," said Rau Le Creuset. He was one of the most experienced members of the First Mobile Battalion, the largest cohesive unit ZAFT had at present. The paramilitary organization was vastly outnumbered, and there weren't very many volunteers, as most people had been hoping things would be resolved peacefully. "No matter how hard the masses fight for peace, others in positions of power will do everything they can to stir the masses into war."

"Create hatred, then direct it where you want," said Kelly Dones, another veteran member who'd fought at the blockade a year ago where ZAFT's mobile suits had made their debut. "The perfect tactic for bigoted bastards like Blue Cosmos."

Andrew Waltfeld, a third veteran, nodded in agreement before taking a sip of coffee and turning his attention to the last occupant of the room, the youngest of them. "What do you think of all this kid?" he asked. Not only was the fifth pilot the youngest, but he was also the most recent graduate, though his test results had surpassed anyone else who ever attended by leaps and bounds.

"Hey, don't call him kid!" said Shiho, immediately rushing to her friend's defense, even as he remained silent, eyes on the television. "He has a name you know!" It was also something of a running joke amongst the veterans that Shiho had a crush on the boy, who was only a year younger than her.

Finally, the young red coat sighed, drawing everyone's attention back to him.

"They'll be here around Valentine's Day," he said. "They'll no doubt be targeting Junius Seven through Ten. Those are our agricultural production facilities." He stood up and swept his gaze over them.

"I think we need to be prepared for anything," said Kira Yamato.

* * *

February 14th, Cosmic Era 70, PLANT Airspace of Junius City, Opening Shots of the Earth-ZAFT War

"It's begun," said Rau, looking out from the bridge of the _Laurasia_, the first of ZAFT's frigates. More had been produced, but the _Laurasia_ itself was the flagship of the First Battalion. Unlike the other frigates, which were loaded to their optimal capacity of six mobile suits, the _Laurasia_ only had five.

Kira looked out from the bridge himself, before looking down at the tactical board next to him and frowning.

"That ship…" he said, tapping his finger on top of one particular vessel that was moving around the fray. The IFF tagged it as an _Agamemnon_-class carrier named _Roosevelt_. "It's acting strange… why is it moving around like that? And without deploying any mobile armors… even with a full complement, they should know that their machines wouldn't make that much of a difference like that."

"You're right, Kira," said Shiho, also frowning at the display with the other three pilots.

"Unless they got something up their sleeves…" said Andrew. Rau frowned.

"But what could they…?" began Rau, but Kira's eyes widened as he realized what was going on.

"Captain Dalzell, move the _Laurasia_ to intercept that ship!" shouted Kira. "Have the hangars ready our GINNs for launch five minutes ago! That thing's carrying nuclear weapons!"

Eyes widened all around as they realized that Kira was right. Dalzell began barking orders, and the pilots scrambled for the backdoor, heading straight for the hangar, not even bothering to put on pilot suits.

They didn't have the time for that.

* * *

"_Yamato, you are clear for launch!_" called the mobile suit operator almost desperately. Kira didn't even acknowledge the clearance as he punched the controls and catapulted away from the _Laurasia_, his black and white GINN roaring through space, Rau, Andrew, Kelly, and Shiho at his sides. The _Laurasia_ opened fire with its long-range cannons, gunning for the _Roosevelt_.

"_Be careful when you shoot it down,_" said Rau. "_If it really does have nukes, we don't want to get caught in the explosion if we set off a reaction._"

"_Will do,_" said Shiho. The others acknowledged as well. Andy and Kelly might not have liked Rau, but what they were doing was just too high of a priority.

Kira's eyes widened suddenly, as a new sense invaded his mind…

"Break ranks!" shouted Kira and Rau at the same time. The five ZAFT reds broke formation; veering off in all directions as five Moebius Zeros flew down at them. A special prototype predecessor to the Moebius, the Zero was the only thing in the Earth Forces arsenal that could go toe-to-toe with a ZAFT mobile suit and have any real chance of coming out of it alive. Faster and more agile than the Moebius, the Zero's most important and dangerous ability was the wired gunbarrels, a set of four pods, tethered and controlled by the thin main fuselage through long, thin, tough wires. Though very few could actually use them, with the gunbarrels, the Zero's pilot could attack an enemy from up to five directions at once, overwhelming the enemy with a multi-vector 'all-range attack'.

Kira's eyes narrowed as he and his teammates wove through the torrential rain of projectiles the Zeros were letting loose on them. They didn't have time for this! The _Roosevelt_—and the nukes Kira was sure it carried—was getting closer to Junius City.

"Argh!" shouted Kira, pulling up, back flipping over one gunbarrel, and peppering it with fire from his GINN's machine gun, destroying the pod. He then began a wild dance through more fire, and homed in on a single Zero. Desperately, the pilot recalled his remaining gunbarrels—maneuvering wasn't as easy with them deployed—and tried to evade, but Kira sent a single shot straight into the heart of the topside gunbarrel, setting the ammunition within aflame, causing the pod to explode and shake the mobile armor. Kira switched his gun to his left hand, drew his sword, and cut the Zero in two before the pilot could regain control.

Behind Kira, the Zero exploded, but he didn't pause to contemplate his first kill, to acknowledge that, for the first time, he had taken a human life.

"_Go, Kira!_" shouted Kelly as he fought another Zero. "_We'll hold these bastards! Stop the carrier!_"

Nodding, Kira did as told, and rocketed off for the carrier.

As Kira closed rapidly with the large warship, he saw the linear catapults open, and launch eight Moebiuses, which all homed in on Kira. Kira's eyes narrowed as he began to dance through the fire they spat.

From the _Roosevelt_, four more mobile armors launched. Unlike the previous ones, these didn't carry any wire-guided missiles, or the standard linear gun.

Instead, they were each armed with a single large missile. Kira's eyes widened.

"No!" shouted Kira. "I won't let you!" Kira furiously danced through the mobile armors, blasting and cutting them apart in rapid succession. Within twenty seconds, it was over, and Kira was rocketing after the four nuclear-equipped mobile armors.

He wouldn't make it… and even the GINN's targeting computer wasn't sufficient for a hit at this range…

With no other option available, Kira shouldered his machine gun, taking careful aim, his objective clear… and suddenly, his pupils dilated, and he fired four shots in rapid succession.

The four bullets streaked across space. They impacted with tremendous speed, one piercing a Moebiuses cockpit, another destroying the thrusters, a third destroyed the arm connecting the third machine to its weapon.

The fourth and final bullet pierced the final machine's warhead…

And a massive explosion of white light erupted. Kira jerked on his GINNs controls, pulling himself back as fast as he could. He successfully escaped the blast radius. Turning to look, his eyes returned to normal, Kira panted as he saw that there was nothing left of the _Roosevelt_ or its mobile armors… but all of the PLANTs were unharmed, including Junius Seven, the one the Moebiuses had been flying for.

Everything across the battlefield froze as everyone stared at where a nuclear explosion had occurred only a moment ago.

"Those… those bastards," breathed Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Mu La Flaga. He keyed his radio.

"ZAFT forces, my apologies," he said. "We didn't realize what those bastards were doing… if I had, I assure you that I would've been helping you." He recalled his gunbarrels, and pulled up. "We'll be leaving now. I want no more part in this battle."

But as he pulled away with two of his wingman, the third stopped suddenly, pulled back, and deployed its gunbarrels.

"_Die, space monsters!_" shouted the pilot. Mu cursed as he pulled his Zero around. "_For the preservation of our blue and pure world!_"

With that, the pilot brought all his guns to bear on one GINN and obliterated it… at the same time Mu, his wingman, and the three remaining GINNs let loose with their full arsenal, blasting the treacherous Blue Cosmos fanatic to pieces.

"Damn you!" shouted Mu. "Damn Blue Cosmos bastards!"

"_Retreat now,_" came a calm voice that was eerily familiar to Mu. "_For now, at least, we are not enemies._" The fourth GINN arrived, and stared sadly at the remains of its deceased comrade. The four ZAFT mobile suits suddenly saluted Mu and his wingman.

"_We'll be seeing you on the battlefield, I'm sure,_" came another voice, this one much younger. Mu didn't know what to make of it. He glanced at his two wingman.

"Let's get out of here," he said, and pulled away, his wingman following.

Kira watched the Zeros retreat, then turned once more to face the remains of Kelly's emerald mobile suit. He saluted. "Kelly…" said Kira softly, tears in his eyes.

"_We can mourn later,_" said Rau. "_Kira, Shiho, I know you're new to this… if you want, you can return to the _Laurasia_, but me and Waltfeld need to get to the main battle and mop up the attack force._"

Kira shook his head, blinking the tears away. "No, I'll be fine," he said.

"_Me too,_" said Shiho.

* * *

Lacus Clyne and Athrun Zala had been talking to their fathers when the attack began unexpectedly, and so had borne witness to everything… including the destruction of the nuclear weapons that had been obviously aimed at Junius City.

Patrick Zala, Athrun's father, slumped in relief in his chair.

"Thank goodness…" he said. He looked at Athrun. "Lenore was on Junius Seven…" Lenore Zala was Athrun's mother. Patrick looked back at the screen showing the battle. A tactical board was displayed next to it, making it easier to sort out the confusing mess. "I know I'm not supposed to, but I can't help but be happier about her safety than the rest…"

"It's understandable Patrick," said Siegel Clyne, Lacus's father. He turned to one of the communications officers. "Who destroyed those things?" he asked.

"Sir, checking now," said the officer. A moment later, he spoke up again. "Message from the First Mobile Batallion flagship _Laurasia_. The pilot was part of the elite team they were carrying. He destroyed one of the Zeros that attempted to intercept the group, and was sent ahead to stop the attack. He destroyed eight Moebiuses before taking out the nukes, destroying the remaining enemies and the carrier."

"Impressive," muttered Patrick. He wondered which of the three veterans in that group was responsible. He didn't know the names of the other two yet, but was certain neither of them had done it. "What's his name?"

"He's the rookie who graduated top of the academy history," said the officer, shocking those listening. "His name is Kira Yamato."

Athrun's eyes widened in shock and he stood up. "Kira?! Are you serious?!"

* * *

Kira's breathing was labored as the Earth Forces retreated in total defeat. Things had been largely going the Earth Forces way, their sheer numbers overwhelming the superior power and abilities of ZAFT's mobile suits and their pilots.

Then the nukes went off and everything changed, as nearly a quarter of the Earth Forces fleet retreated in disgust, and the ZAFT pilots went berserk at the nuclear threat to their homeland. For every ZAFT soldier that died, ten, fifteen, even twenty Earth Forces soldiers went down as the furious ZAFT pilots cut them down relentlessly.

"_Hey, Kira, you did great out there!_" said Shiho. "_Thirty-nine mobile armors and four warships! Wow! That's incredible for a first engagement!_"

"_It sure is,_" said Andy, a smile evident in his voice.

"_We're being requested at Aprilius One,_" came Rau's voice. "_I do believe they want to see you, Kira._"

* * *

February 14th, Cosmic Era 70, PLANT Aprilius One, Capital of the PLANTs, Outside the Hall of the Supreme Council

Kira sighed in relief as the camera shut off and the crowd was—somewhat forcefully—dispersed.

In a ceremony broadcast to the entirety of the PLANTs—and a fair number of locations on Earth, particularly neutral or allied countries, and likely Heliopolis and Copernicus as well—Kira had been personally congratulated and thanked by Chairman Siegel Clyne of the Supreme Council, and awarded the Order of the Nebula by Patrick Zala, the Defense Committee Chairman.

After a few minutes, the crowd cleared away entirely, and Kira was feeling uncomfortable again. The remaining people in the area were Kira, Shiho, Lacus Clyne, and Athrun Zala.

The source of Kira's discomfort was the way Athrun was looking at him critically.

"Not that I'm not grateful," said Athrun. "But what the hell are you doing in ZAFT, Kira? Hell, why didn't you let me know you'd come here in the first place?!"

Kira winced slightly, but decided not to answer the question. The truth was that Kira had wanted to remain anonymous. However, he'd been blowing his chances for that ever since he joined the academy, and there was certainly no way in hell he'd be anonymous anymore.

"My mom and I moved here from Heliopolis, after my father was killed," said Kira sadly. Athrun froze on the spot, and his own expression became downcast. "That was eight months ago. We wanted to remain… anonymous, and being an acquaintance of Athrun and Lenore Zala isn't particularly conducive to that. Though, at this point, I don't think it would matter much."

Lacus blinked. "Why is that, Mr. Yamato?"

Kira blushed slightly. "Call me Kira," he said, uncomfortable with the formalities. "And… actually, my mom is about to… make history. She's been helping in the development of the N-jammer… and is apparently slated to take over Orson White's position in the Supreme Council."

Athrun's eyes widened.

"What?! That would make her the first Natural ever appointed to the council!" exclaimed Athrun in shock. Lacus smiled.

"I think its great," she said. "She is a citizen of the PLANTs, after all."

"Yeah," said Shiho, smiling. "And it's certainly a step in the right direction, if you ask me. We wouldn't want to be accused of discriminating against Naturals, right?"

"Yeah, I know, it's just a bit of a shock," said Athrun, shaking his head. Kira smiled.

"Yeah, it is," he said. "Anyways, I need to go see her. I'm sure she wants to… talk to me, personally…" _And simultaneously congratulate me on my success and kill me for going out into battle…_

* * *

February 14th, Cosmic Era 70, Orb Union, Athha Mansion

Uzumi Nara Athha watched stoically with his daughter, Cagalli Yula Athha, as the ceremony was broadcast live from the PLANTs. He hid it well, but it was a shock for him, seeing Kira Yamato in the graces of the PLANT Supreme Council, and learning that the boy had averted a nuclear attack that would've cost hundreds of thousands of lives.

"Incredible," said Colonel Ledonir Kisaka, Cagalli's bodyguard. "He's so young, but he's already perhaps the greatest hero in history…"

Uzumi nodded in agreement. "It's not everyday one is able to avert a tragedy of this scale," he said. "And on top of that, the number of enemies he brought down, and in his first engagement… he's extraordinary."

Cagalli scowled, though she was also intrigued with Kira. "Why are you so interested? This has nothing to do with us."

Uzumi smiled. "No, you're right, it does not. However, as it so happens, I was a good friend of Kira's parents, Caridad and Haruma Yamato."

Cagalli blinked. "Are you serious?"

Uzumi nodded. "Quite."

* * *

February 15th, Cosmic Era 70, PLANT Aprilius One, Capital of the PLANTs, Chambers of the Supreme Council

"I hate to say it," said Patrick as he looked around the council table. "But we may need to prepare for the possibility of an earth invasion. If things go bad enough, we may be forced to capture their capital before we can convince them to negotiate a fair peace treaty. Though, hopefully, all we'll need to do is convince them that the price for continued hostility is too great."

Ezalia Joule nodded in agreement. "I believe Defense Representative Zala is correct," she said. "If nothing else, we'll certainly need to be ready for ground combat, so that we might offer aid to any allies we gain on Earth."

Siegel, though reluctant to continue such an arms development, nodded. "Yes," he said. "We may not have much of a choice. But what of numbers?"

"We've had a massive influx of volunteers since word of the attack got around entirely," said Patrick. "It seems the battle and attack have inspired them—and Yamato's heroic acts have been a particular source of inspiration. Not ambitious hope to replicate it, but rather, the hope that they, too, can somehow make a difference in the protection of our homeland. My own son is among the volunteers, though that may also have to do with his desire to stay at his friend's side."

"So, how do we proceed for now?" asked Yuri Amalfi. Siegel sighed.

"For now, we continue our pursuit of full autonomy and independence," said Siegel. "The Oceania Union and United States of South America… contact them to establish trade agreements. And Representative White? Continue work on the N-jammer. I don't want to rely on people like Yamato to avert every nuclear strike against us—there simply aren't enough of him to pull it off."

* * *

**Author's Note: So, did everyone like that? I hope Shiho isn't too OOC or anything, but I'm not really all that familiar with the character's personality.**

**Anyways, you can simply imagine all the differences this will make in the war. I'm gonna focus the story on Kira, but I'm not sure if I should show more of the war (I'm thinking it would be fun to write), or simply skip ahead to the series proper (Heliopolis).**

**I'm also gonna remove Rau's role as the evil madman, instead leaving him as a good guy (overall). He's still got some personal problems regarding his origins, but he doesn't believe in the whole "humanity deserves death" thing. Here, I firmly entrench the Earth Forces/Blue Cosmos as the bad guys, though, of course, that doesn't speak for individuals of the two sides.**

**This _will_ be a Kira X Lacus story, since I really can't wrap my mind around any other pairings for the two. Not sure what the chances for Athrun x Cagalli are, but I do intend to have an eventual Yzak x Shiho.**

**Anyways, please let me know what you think!  
**


	2. Chapter 1: The Battle of Yggdrasil

**Yes! I'm back! I've only got a slight cough leftover from my sickness, so now, I can't continue with my fanfiction. Still, I wish to once more extend an apology to everyone who has been left waiting for my update to _The White Queen_. Given how late it is, and that I only recently recovered, I'm simply pushing it back a week altogether--so there will be only one update this Saturday, not two. Sorry.**

**Regardless of that, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter!**

**Edit: I made some minor corrections to this chapter, mostly grammatical stuff.  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED or any of the associated characters. However, I do own the following OCs: Captain Dalzell, Admiral Max Thole, Julia Yakara, Timothy Kane, and Terrace Hans.**

* * *

February 14th, Cosmic Era 70, PLANT Sextilis One, Yamato Residence

"Kira Yamato, do you have any _idea_ how much trouble you're in for scaring me like that?" demanded Caridad as she glared at her son, who sighed in response.

"Yes mom, I know," he said. "But I… I couldn't just sit by and do nothing!" Caridad smiled slightly.

"I know," she said, grabbing Kira in a hug. "I know. It's not who you are. I just worry about you… and…" Kira sighed.

"I know you don't trust Le Creuset, mom," said Kira as he put his hands on her shoulders. "Do you think any of the rest of us really do? At times, I don't think he trusts himself." Kira paused. "Are you _ever_ going to tell me why you don't trust him?"

"Yes," said Caridad. "But now isn't the time. Please, understand."

"I do mom," said Kira. "I do."

As the two walked into the dining room, where Caridad had already set dinner for them, she looked up at her son sadly.

"Will you… will you be leaving soon?" she asked. Kira shrugged.

"I don't know," he said. "It depends on whether they send us out on missions or if they keep us here, to protect the homeland. But let's not talk about that now. For the moment, let's just put all of that aside."

Caridad smiled. "You're right," she said. "I just worry about you. You're the only family I have left."

Kira smiled in response. "Don't worry," he said. "I have no intention of dying out there."

What Kira did not know was that Caridad was lying, to an extent. While Kira was the only real family she had left, there was another very close relative, to both of them. But neither had seen her in fifteen years. And that wasn't likely to change anytime soon.

* * *

February 20th, Cosmic Era 70, Between Lagrange Point 1 and 5, _Laurasia_ Crewquarters

"Kira, did you hear?!" exclaimed Shiho as she barged into Kira's room. It wasn't something she normally did, but she was panicked. Kira, who had been lying down in his bed thinking over everything that was going on, bolted upright.

"What? What's wrong?" he asked.

"The Atlantic Federation invaded South America!" said Shiho. "They've seized total control of it! And they declared war on the Oceania Union for condemning their actions and openly declaring support for the PLANTs!"

"What?!" exclaimed Kira. "Are they crazy?!"

"That's putting it mildly," said Rau, walking into the room behind Shiho. "We're currently on course for Yggdrasil. We'll be rendezvousing with a fleet on the way. The council has a very important mission for us."

* * *

February 22nd, Cosmic Era 70, Lagrange Point 1, Airspace of Yggdrasil, Bridge of the _Laurasia_

"This is unbelievable," said Kira softly, looking at the tactical display. The others nodded in agreement.

"The Earth Forces aren't going to make the mistake of underestimating ZAFT's potential strength again," said Rau.

"But still, three orbital fleets to prevent us from transporting PLANT sympathizers away from a colony controlled by the Alliance?" asked Shiho incredulously. Andy sighed.

"Shows just how much control those Blue Cosmos bastards have over the Earth Alliance," he said. "Admittedly, that much force is appropriate for dealing with what we've got here. Honestly, though, I didn't expect an actual battle."

"The enemy force consists of three fleets of about thirty to forty ships apiece," said Dalzell. "That's over a hundred ships were facing. They outnumber us by about five to one. In terms of the abilities of our mobile suits against their mobile armors, were about even."

Rau nodded. "The problem comes when you factor in their warships," he said. "The 1st fleet alone includes no less than five _Agamemnon_-class carriers. At an estimate, they have…" Rau frowned in thought.

"A hundred and four ships, and two hundred eighty mobile armors," said Kira, running the calculations much faster than Rau. "Our own force consists of twenty-one _Laurasia_-class frigates, and seventy-nine mobile suits. Unfortunately, we don't have pilots for all of them, and also have to make sure the transports are safe as well."

"The influx of volunteers was a little late for this battle," said Andy. "Unlike the Alliance, we have no desire to send poorly trained rookies to the frontline."

"Mmm…" murmured Rau. "If they attack, it will be trouble. Though I suppose it's the best field test we could hope for, for the N-jammers."

"I hope they don't," said Shiho softly. "If they did, Yggdrasil would…"

"I know, Shiho," said Kira. "I'm hoping for the same thing."

* * *

An hour later, bridge of the _Oregon_

"So, it seems the Coordinators are determined to help their sympathizers at Yggdrasil," said Admiral Max Thole as the ZAFT fleet continued its approach to the space station/colony. "Alright, bring the entire fleet up to level one battle stations. Its time to crush those disgusting Coordinators."

Within moments, the entire fleet was combat ready, and had begun deploying mobile armors. The ZAFT fleet had obviously been waiting, as the frigates all began turning immediately, and those already facing them deployed their catapults.

"S-sir! Heavy radio wave interference! The ECCM isn't working!" called one of the operators in a panic.

"What?!" exclaimed Thole.

* * *

Hangar of the _Laurasia_

"How are they reacting?" asked Kira as he powered up his GINN and moved to the catapult. He'd drawn the long straw today—he was launching first.

"_The enemy fleets are in a total state of disarray,_" said Dalzell. "_Now's the time to strike._"

None of them really liked the idea of fighting an enemy like this—but if they didn't, they'd be destroyed under sheer weight of numbers.

"Kira Yamato, heading out!" called Kira as he punched the controls and sent his machine soaring out into the battlefield.

In spite of himself, Kira felt some small satisfaction at the sight of over twenty mobile armors breaking away to avoid him. Obviously, the distinctive colors of his GINN were anything _but_ unnoticed by the Earth Forces pilots.

As Kira's wingmen pulled up alongside him, he opened up on a cluster of three Moebiuses, blasting the weak mobile armors apart. He flipped up over the fire of another armor, flying past it, cleaving it in two with his sword.

"_Yo, Kira, wanna trade?_" came Andy's voice. Kira glanced his way and saw Andy throw his sword towards him. Realizing immediately what was going through the older pilots mind, Kira tossed his machine gun to Andy, and snatched the sword. Andy proceeded to open up on mobile armors in all directions, as Kira flitted about the battlefield, cutting Moebius upon Moebius to pieces.

The flash of an explosion drew Kira's attention, and he saw Rau's GINN flying away from the explosion of what had once been a _Nelson_-class battleship.

* * *

Dalzell grit his teeth as the fleet charged recklessly at the ZAFT force. Couldn't they see that if they did that, they'd be endangering Yggdrasil? The fools!

"Fleet wide message now!" ordered Dalzell. "We're leaving three ships behind to guard the transports, but the rest are to move forward and meet the enemy force before they can get closer to Yggdrasil! We cannot allow this battle to consume the innocent lives on that colony!"

* * *

The ZAFT fleet moved forward, away from Yggdrasil as the entire Earth Forces fleet moved forward, intent on obliterating the ZAFT fleet, no matter the cost.

The GINNs and Moebiuses went at one another with a vengeance, but four particular GINNs quickly outshone the rest, as the elite force from the _Laurasia_ cut down mobile armors left and right.

"_Laurasia_, launch a Barrus as soon as I get into position to retrieve it," said Kira as he cut apart one mobile armor, then pulled his machine back, spun around cutting the Moebius that had attempted to sneak up on him in two, and completing his three-hundred sixty degree turn, rocketing back towards the _Laurasia_, his entire maneuver complete in less than two seconds.

"_Roger that,_" said Julia Yakara, the mobile suit controller for the _Laurasia_. "_We're ready to launch anytime._"

"_We'll cover you Kira,_" said Shiho as she gunned down her eleventh Moebius in half as many minutes.

"Thanks," said Kira. "_Laurasia_, launch the Barrus now!"

A heavy cannon immediately shot from the _Laurasia_'s catapult. Kira, storing the swords on his machine's hips, grabbed the heavy ion cannon, and spun around a Moebius before blasting it to spacedust.

He then flew for the incoming enemy fleets.

* * *

_That's thirteen mobile armors and two warships_, thought Rau as he gunned down yet another Moebius. They fell faster than flies, but they seemed almost twice as numerous. It was really starting to get on his nerves. _Damn it, I can't die here._

He dodged several more shots from mobile armors and destroyed them in rapid succession.

"Andrew, how's Kira doing?" asked Rau as he moved back to back with the other veteran.

"_Oh, I'd say he's doing quite well,_" said Andy. "_He's started working on gunning down warships. He's already gotten two _Nelsons_ and one of their carriers too._"

"That's good, the fewer ships they have, the better," said Rau as the two broke away from each other to avoid shots from a trio of escort ships. They closed in on the ships, letting loose at strategic targets about the hull, then pummeled the bridge. As they flew away, the ships exploded.

_That's fifteen mobile armors and four ships now,_ thought Rau grimly as he and Andy dove back into the fray.

* * *

"You Earth Forces bastards!" shouted Shiho as she swung her sword and allowed a passing Moebius to cut itself from stem to stern on the sharp blade. Completing the turn, she took aim with her machine gun and opened up, obliterating another Moebius entirely. "Are you trying to destroy Yggdrasil?!"

Of course, logically, it wouldn't make sense for them to do that—but then, logically, there was no reason for this war to happen in the first place. _Logic_, obviously, wasn't very important to the Earth Forces leadership. Or maybe it would be better to state that logic was never important to Blue Cosmos.

Shiho dodged a round from the linear gun of one mobile armor and shot it down, but the distraction cost her, as a missile blasted off her GINN's leg. A flash of light shot through the battlefield, destroying the offending mobile armor. Kira's GINN drew up alongside Shiho's.

"_Shiho, you have to retreat, you can't do anything like that!_" said Kira. Shiho grit her teeth in frustration.

"_Kira's right,_" said Rau. "Laurasia_, can you pick her up?_"

"_Negative,_" said Julia. "_The _Gamow_ is back near Yggdrasil though. She can retreat there._"

"_You heard her, Shiho,_" said Rau, shooting down another mobile armor. "_Get going!_"

"Yes sir," said Shiho reluctantly as her teammates covered her retreat.

"_The rest of us need to withdraw as well for resupply,_" said Kira. "_Come on, let's get going._"

* * *

The _Laurasia_ shook under the barrage of enemy weapons fire. In the time it took for Kira, Shiho, Rau, and Andrew to resupply and relaunch, the Earth Forces had forced their way closer to Yggdrasil, intent on annihilating the transports. They were nearly ready to escape Yggdrasil, though, so Dalzell was determined to stand in defense of the station and his comrades.

"We can't allow them to inflict any damage on the station!" said Dalzell. "Don't give up!"

"Sir, the main cannon's been destroyed!" said one of the operators. "The hull take much more damage either!"

"Damn," muttered Dalzell as his ship continued to sink. He looked at Julia.

"Order the crew to begin evacuation," he said. "And when you're done, get yourself out of here. You can't do anymore here."

Julia looked back at him for a moment before turning to her station.

"All hands, prepare to abandon ship," she said calmly over the PA. "Repeat, all hands, prepare to abandon ship." She set down her headset and looked back at her captain. "I'm not leaving, sir. I'll do everything in my power to help you succeed."

Dalzell smiled, stood up, and walked over to her. "I'm afraid that this is one order I won't let you refuse," he said. He pulled back his fist and drove it viciously into her gut, drawing shocked looks from the rest of the bridge crew as Julia slumped, unconscious. He turned to the Timothy Kane, the electronic warfare specialist. "Get her to one of the escape pods, then get yourself out of here!" Timothy snapped to attention, and immediately carried out Dalzell's orders as the man resumed his seat in the captain's chair.

* * *

"_Rau Le Creuset, launching!_"

"_Andrew Waltfeld, launching!_"

"_Kira Yamato, taking off!_"

The three GINNs shot out from the _Gamow_, one after the other, in rapid succession. Zelman, the _Gamow_'s commanding officer, watched them head out grimly. His hand clenched tightly into a fist.

"Damn it," he muttered. He hated being stuck back here, as the bulk of the ZAFT fleet was buried under sheer weight of numbers. But he didn't even have the minimal experience of the officers who commanded during the Valentine's Battle.

He understood all too well that staying back, defending the transports, and resupplying their mobile suits was the best thing he could do for this battle.

* * *

"Captain Dalzell!" cried Kira as he destroyed a trio of mobile armors pounding on the _Laurasia_. The ship was in horrendous condition—fires were breaking out all across the hull, and more than half of its cannons had been annihilated. Its engines had also taken a beating, and the broken warship was limping through the battle, even as the Earth Forces continued to relentlessly pound on it.

"_This isn't over yet, you Earth Forces bastards!_" came Dalzell's voice over the radio. To the horror of Kira, Andy, Rau, and all others watching, the _Laurasia_ charged for the heart of the Earth Forces formation, dropping lifepods along the way.

* * *

Fire came at the _Laurasia_ from all directions as it moved forward. The lights of the bridge flashed red, and alarms echoed through the almost empty ship.

The door of the bridge opened, and Timothy Kane ran through, rushing back to his post. Dalzell looked at him.

"I thought I told you to get off this ship," he growled, casting his eyes over the rest of the crew. "All of you need to get off. I can take it from here."

The pilot, a young man named Terrace Hans, looked back at him and stood up.

"Sir, I speak for all of us when I say we aren't going anywhere," said Terrace grimly. Dalzell blinked and looked at the faces of each member of the bridge crew. He felt a slight tear float free of his eye.

"Thank you," he said, eyes closed. Then, he snapped them open, determination shining forth. "Set collision course for the flagship of the 1st fleet! Don't stop firing till we have nothing left! If we're to die here, we won't die alone! We'll take that son of a bitch Thole out with us!"

* * *

Thole grinned dementedly as the _Laurasia_ charged at his ship in a kamikaze run. But he wouldn't get anywhere close—not through this fire.

At least, that's what Thole thought… until several GINNs followed the _Laurasia_'s example, and used their own crippled bodies to take out several of the ships pounding on the frigate.

Thole's eyes widened in horror.

* * *

"Captain Dalzell!" cried Kira as he, Rau, and Andy opened fire on the various ships, destroying their weapons, engines, or annihilating them utterly, while cutting apart mobile armors.

The _Laurasia_, now stripped of engines, thrusters, weapons, and almost its entire hull, crashed through the prow of the _Oregon_, and both vessels exploded.

Kira suddenly glanced back, and pulled his GINN up, firing madly on the mobile armor that had tried to destroy him.

"_Damn it!_" cursed Rau. "_Captain Zelman, how's the evacuation coming?_"

"_It's complete,_" said Zelman, sounding bitter. "_We're pulling out now._"

"_Got it, we'll cover you,_" said Andy.

"_The enemy fleets firing a long-range bombardment at the _Gamow_ and the others!_" came the cry of one GINN pilot. "_They're hitting Yggdrasil!_"

"_What?!_" The cry came from nearly every ZAFT pilot present.

The crippled Earth Forces fleet opened up with everything it had left… Kira stared in horror as Yggdrasil began to fall apart.

"NO!" he cried, turning angrily towards one ship and destroying it. His comrades joined him in the attack.

* * *

Half an hour later

Kira panted heavily as he stared out at the destruction wrought. Though ZAFT had ultimately won the battle, as the remaining twenty-three Earth Forces ships limped away in defeat, utterly drained of their mobile armors, the cost had been high.

Of the twenty-one frigates and half-dozen transports that had arrived at Yggdrasil, five of the frigates were still intact—and one of them would need to spend weeks in drydock for repairs, while two of the transports, along with their hundred and fifty passengers, had been destroyed. Of the sixty-eight GINNs that had launched, only eight were still intact, counting Shiho's, and the survivors had all taken heavy damage. Hilda Harken, one of the survivors, had pulled back to the _Gamow_ earlier due to injuries suffered when her GINN had taken an indirect hit from the cannon of _Nelson_. The injury had cost her one of her eyes.

And perhaps worst of all, Yggdrasil had been destroyed.

"_Let's return to the _Gamow_,_" said Rau, his breathing sounding as haggard as Kira's. "_There's no point in remaining out here. Two of the transports are going to search for lifepods and any other possible survivors._"

"Got it," said Kira, his voice projecting the weariness felt by all the survivors of the battle.

* * *

February 27th, Cosmic Era Seventy, PLANT Maius Four, HQ of ZAFT's First Mobile Battalion

"So, what's the verdict?" asked Shiho wearily as Rau stepped into the lounge.

She, Rau, Kira, and Andy were the only pilots left of the first battalion. In fact, aside from Julia, who was the only senior survivor of the _Laurasia_'s crew, they were the only members of the battalion still alive. While about half of the _Laurasia_'s crew remained, it was only the pilots and senior crewmen of the ship that were actually considered members of the batallion.

Rau's expression—despite the mask—was grim as he looked the others over. Julia had joined them in the lounge today.

"The first mobile battalion no longer exists," said Rau. "In fact, our team is being split up entirely. I'm being made a team commander, with the _Gamow_ as my flagship. Andrew is being pulled out of active service, to help prepare our forces for a counter-invasion, for lack of a better term. Kira is also going to be made a commander, on a new frigate, the _Philosopher_. Shiho and Julia are being assigned to the ship under his command."

"Are you serious?" asked Shiho, as Kira and Julia were too shocked to speak. "Even if the battalion doesn't exist anymore, I never thought they'd separate us like this." Rau shrugged uncomfortably.

"Unfortunately, that's the case," he said. "Andrew's expertise regarding the Earth proper will be invaluable when we make our move there. Kira and I are too valuable as commanders to saddle one of us under the others command, and you've always worked better with Kira than with myself. And the _Gamow_ has a full crew already, while the _Philosopher_ is still filling out its crew roster, so Julia was a perfect candidate."

There was silence for a moment before Andy sighed.

"I see," he said. "I guess… well, I suppose this is goodbye, then. Even if we keep in touch, the war won't allow any of us to see each other for months at a time."

Everyone stood up, and Rau smiled slightly as Kira, Shiho, and Julia lined up together. Andy took a position next to Rau, facing the other three. Rau held out a hand to Kira.

"It was good working with you, Kira Yamato," said Rau. "I look forward to the time we will fly side-by-side once more."

"Me as well," said Kira, shaking Rau's hand. Andy clapped Kira on the shoulder.

"See you around, youngster," he said, smiling.

* * *

**Author's Note: I hope everyone enjoyed that. One thing I liked about this chapter was that it worked to emphasize some of the realities of war. Most people probably wasn't expecting me to destroy the _Laurasia_ already, not to mention kill off pretty much the entire crew, several of whom had names despite only appearing for one or two scenes. I wasn't gonna have Julia survive, originally, but I decided to keep her around. Shiho ended up knocked out of the battle partway through, and even though ZAFT won, the cost was high, and Kira, Rau, and Andy only just barely survived. I feel that serves to up the realism some, without killing off characters that I know people want to survive.**

**Not sure what I'll do with the next chapter, but I look forward to writing it--later, after I've updated _The White Queen _and_ SEED Dauntless_.**

**Please leave a review! Ja ne!**


	3. Chapter 2: A Day of Peace

**Well, it's been awhile since I've updated this, and it sadly isn't terribly long. For that, I apologize. I've been putting in a lot of effort on _Gundam SEED Dauntless_, which has been coming along great. Still, I thought I'd give everyone at least a little something to tide them over. Unlike previous chapters, there's no fighting here, but that's probably a good thing.**

**Anyways, I don't have much to say here, so let's just get on with it, shall we?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED or any of the associated characters or mecha. I do, however, own the OCs Julia Takara, Reine En Creuset, and Hugh Jonathon, as well as this particular fanfic.  
**

* * *

March 16th, Cosmic Era 70, PLANT Aprilius One, Capital of the PLANTs, Clyne Residence

Siegel sighed, looking over the report on the council's latest decision while listening to Lacus frantically working on fixing herself up. He'd need to talk to Patrick about that.

After several more minor skirmishes with attack forces sent against the PLANTs, and with the Alliance's declaration of war on the Oceania Union, a decision had been made to reinforce their allies on Earth and divert the Alliance's attention away from space. Unfortunately, their first move, an attempt to capture the Victoria spaceport, had ended in failure.

Having taken the time to assess that, Patrick and the rest of the Defense Committee had reluctantly proposed a somewhat more radical and prolonged approach: Operation Uroboros. Though the council as a whole was reluctant to do so, they'd voted to pursue Uroboros.

The sound of the doorbell drew Siegel's attention as the butler walked over and opened the door.

"Reine!" exclaimed Lacus excitedly, rushing to the front door to greet her best friend.

"Lacus! It's been awhile!" said Reine. That much was certain—Reine's home was only a ten-minute walk from the Clynes, and prior to the outbreak of war, she'd visit everyday, so the more than one-month long break was quite a long time. Though, Siegel suspected that had to do with the fact that Reine's father had finally gotten a lengthy break from his work in the military. Siegel's eyes turned to the masked man.

"Good of you to come, Rau," said Siegel. The masked man shifted uncomfortably at the use of his first name, which Siegel always insisted they use for simple social visits such as this one.

"Chairman Clyne," said Rau with a salute. "Thank you for allowing us to visit today."

"How many times do I have to tell you not to stand on formalities when visiting with Reine?" asked Siegel softly.

"Yeah daddy," said Reine, smiling as she turned to her adoptive father. "This is a social visit, not a military meeting. Lighten up!"

Rau opened his mouth to reply, but the sound of the doorbell interrupted him. Everyone turned to face the doorway as it was opened.

"Patrick, Lenore, Athrun," said Siegel, smiling as the Zalas stepped through the door. "Thanks for coming today."

"Our pleasure, old friend," said Patrick with a smile of his own.

"Um… I got you these," said Athrun, holding out a bouquet of flowers for Lacus.

"Oh, thank you," said Lacus, smiling.

"Let's head to the back," suggested Siegel. "I suspect our last guests will be a little late today."

"Last guests?" questioned everyone but Lacus. Siegel merely smiled as he led them to the back.

* * *

PLANT Sextilis One, Yamato Residence

"_You've taken a considerable risk contacting me with this information,_" said Uzumi Nara Athha, frowning. "_Why, Caridad?_"

"Because I've lost too much already," said Caridad sadly. "I spoke with Committee Chairman White and Council Chairman Clyne beforehand. I'm limited in what I can outright say, and it's the most secure line we could achieve. Nothing I told you would be considered harmful."

"_No, not until it's too late, I'm sure,_" said Uzumi.

"Lord Uzumi, please," said Caridad. "I lost Via, I lost my husband, my children, my niece… please, I can't lose Cagalli too."

"_You won't,_" said Uzumi reassuringly. "_I promise you, I'll keep Cagalli safe, even if it costs me my life._" Caridad let out a small sob. She didn't want it to come to that, and hated herself for the way she felt about it.

"Thank you," said Caridad softly, before cutting the transmission. After a moment, she pulled herself together and carefully recomposed herself.

A short while later, she arrived at the spaceport to find Kira waiting, and the two immediately boarded the private shuttle that had been waiting for them.

* * *

PLANT Aprilius One, Clyne Residence

While Lacus, Athrun, and Reine enjoyed themselves in the backyard of the Clyne Residence with Lenore, the two council members and ZAFT commander had been discussing Operation Uroboros. Unfortunately, it wasn't going well

"I still can't figure out much to improve it," admitted Patrick. "I've contemplated sending a warning ahead of time, but that could compromise everything."

Rau nodded. "I think the best option would be to incorporate a sort of quantum transmitter," he said. "As I understand it, quantum communication is impervious to the jamming effects of the N-jammer. If we include a command to shut down or activate, then we could instantly disengage or reengage the N-jammers on Earth. We could reassure people that we wouldn't abuse them by removing them as soon as the war ends."

"Removal will take a long time," said Siegel, nodding. "But it sounds like a good idea. Patrick, what do you think?"

"I'll talk to Chairman White," said Patrick. "His people, particularly Professor Yamato, have a far better understanding of the N-jammers and quantum communication technology than I do. However, it sounds like a good idea."

Siegel couldn't help but smile slightly, especially when he heard the doorbell ring. "I don't think you'll have to wait too long to speak to an expert," he said, standing up and heading for the door, meeting Lenore and the teens partway.

The butler opened the door to reveal Kira and Caridad Yamato waiting.

"Kira?" said Athrun, blinking. "What are you doing here?"

"We invited them of course," said Lacus, smiling as she reached out to grab Kira by the wrist and pull him into the mansion, his mother following with a bemused expression as a nervous Kira was pulled away, with a confused Athrun following. Those remaining shook their head in amusement.

"You know, I think I need to talk to her about all this," said Reine, not bothering to hide the amusement in her voice. Caridad glanced at Reine, then started to stare at the girl, before looking away again, her eyes now focusing on Rau. The sudden tension in the air was palpable, and an uncertain Reine excused herself, as did the two council members and Lenore.

"You," said Caridad, voice thick with barely suppressed anger and loathing. Rau sighed.

"I don't blame you for not liking or trusting me," he said. "But please, believe me when I say that I am not the man I was back then. I have Reine to thank for that."

"I can't believe you," said Caridad. "I'd thought she was dead. One of many victims, both of Ulen and of Blue Cosmos. You… saved her?"

"Actually, you're sister saved her," said Rau. Caridad's breath hitched. "I explored the facility in the direct aftermath. I found you're sister there, with Reine in her arms. She asked me to look after her, just before she died. I never promised anything, but I've done as she requested, to the best of my abilities. We're fortunate, actually. The only Blue Cosmos agent to discover her continued existence tried taking her out himself, and I was able to stop him. I've put a lot of effort into ensuring her safety, I assure you."

Caridad eyed the masked man wearily, and was surprised when he suddenly removed his mask to reveal his surprisingly soft blue eyes.

"Look into my eyes," he said quietly. "Tell me whether or not you believe me, based on what you see there."

She was quiet for a moment before speaking softly, hardly able to believe the one-eighty this man had caused her to pull.

"I believe you," she said quietly. "But I don't trust you, either."

"That's all I can ask for," said Rau. "Don't worry. I won't tell them the truth, unless I feel there's no other choice, or that the time has come for them to know the truth."

"Thank you," said Caridad quietly.

"Enough on the past, though," said Rau, deciding to change away from the rather depressing subject as he put his mask back on. "I believe Defense Committee Chairman Zala has a question for you."

* * *

"How many of these things did you build?" asked Kira, watching with an amused smile as Athrun was swarmed by the horde of Haros that the two girls had set on him.

"Too many, obviously!" said Athrun, trying to escape. "But I don't recall making this many either!"

"That would be me," said Reine. "I'm fairly gifted at this stuff, so I studied your designs and made a few myself. Of course, mine have a little something extra…"

Giggling, Reine called out to one of the Haros. "Umi-chan! Go ahead!"

In response, a sea blue Haro revealed a small opening, which produced a small pipe-like object. The Haro then began to spray Athrun with water.

Ignoring his friend's plight, Kira turned his attention back to Lacus and Reine. It was nice, this visit. He hadn't really relaxed much since the Battle of Yggdrasil, with plenty of small skirmishes since then. Plus, he was eager to learn more about Athrun's fiancée.

"So, tell us about yourself Kira," said Lacus. Kira opened his mouth to reply, but Reine cut him off.

"Yeah, and none of that military-type stuff," she said. "Tell us about _you_."

"Well, I—"

"Actually, you know what, let's skip it and get on to the good, gossipy stuff, okay?" said Reine. "So tell us, are those rumors about you and your wingman true?"

Kira, who'd sighed, given up on trying to speak, and begun to sip his tea, choked, spitting the little bit he had back out onto the floor of the sunroom.

"Rumors?" he questioned as his coughing fit ended. Athrun ran past them, still being swarmed by Haros—another one of Reine's appeared to be firing projectiles at him. "About Shiho and I?"

"Of course," said Reine, smiling at him mischievously. "Did you expect anything less? You are, after all, the number one dream boy of the PLANTs."

"Dream boy?" questioned Kira.

"Of course," said Reine. "Um, let's see… you're handsome, kind, modest, intelligent, you have _very_ engaging eyes, oh, and let's not forget that you're one of the greatest war heroes of all time."

"But…"

"She's right Kira," said Lacus teasingly, smiling at the brunet. "So, are the rumors true?"

"What rumors?" asked Kira. "I've never heard of them before now."

"That Shiho Hahnenfuss is the girlfriend of Kira Yamato," said Athrun, who'd finally escaped the Haros, as he sat down next to Kira.

"WHAT?!"

"I take it they're not true then?" said Reine, sighing in a dramatic fashion. "Oh, that's such a shame! Hmmm… actually, on second thought, I guess it makes sense. From what I know of her, Shiho strikes me as more of the sister-type in relation to you then the girlfriend type. I mean, you even have similar eyes and hair!"

Kira groaned. "Great, just what I needed," he said. "Rumors about my love life. If it hadn't been for the nuclear attack, I'd probably be wishing I hadn't joined ZAFT right now."

"Yeah, being able to save a million lives in an instant is worth any personal discomfort, don't you think?" said Reine sweetly.

"Reine, leave him alone," said Lacus admonishingly before turning her attention to the brunet. "Welcome to the number one downside of fame, Kira."

"I thought fame had nothing _but_ downsides," grumbled Kira. "I swear, half those skirmishes since Yggdrasil have been against people sent to deal with me specifically."

"Well, you probably pissed off a lot of people in Blue Cosmos when you saved our agricultural production colonies," remarked Athrun. "As far as they're concerned, you're probably public enemy number one."

"Shiho said the same thing," said Kira with a sigh. "You know, I came here to relax, not talk about the war."

"Kira's right," said Lacus. "You two leave him alone about the war. Right now, we're all just ordinary teenagers, okay?"

* * *

"So? Is it feasible?" asked Patrick as Caridad examined the N-jammers on a computer. She shook her head sadly.

"No," she said. "Even quantum radiowaves wouldn't last through that much crust and interference. It'll be easy enough to develop a tracking device to monitor their location, but that's about the limit of what we can do with our current technology."

"I see," said Patrick, sighing. "I hate this."

"We all do," said Rau. "But honestly, do we have any other choice? If we don't take the offensive, we'll eventually be worn down by sheer attrition. At the very least, we need to have control of all the Mass Drivers in Earth Forces territory, and keep the Orb Mass Driver out of their hands as well."

"I'll see if I can come up with anything," said Caridad. "I probably know more about the N-jammers than anyone else. If I can devise something, anything, I'll let you know."

"Thank you Caridad," said Siegel. "But for now, let's set the war aside. There's something else I wanted to discuss."

"What might that be, Siegel?" asked Lenore.

"The engagement of our children," said Siegel. "And Kira Yamato."

"This is perhaps a subject I should not be involved with," said Rau, standing up. "Excuse me. It has been some time since I've seen Kira. It would be good to catch up with my old teammate."

* * *

A few hours later, Kira and Caridad were on the private shuttle that was transporting them back to Sexitlis One. Kira sighed slightly as he looked out the window at the PLANTs. The sight of those massive, hourglass-like structures was truly enthralling, a tribute to how far humans had come. But even still, they hadn't moved past war and hatred yet.

Still, like many people, Kira was hopeful.

"Did you enjoy yourself, Kira?" asked Caridad softly. Kira turned to face his mother with a smile.

"Yeah," he said. "It was nice to be able to really relax for awhile and forget everything."

"I know what you mean," said Caridad quietly. "How long do you have?"

"The _Philosopher_ will be launching again the day after tomorrow," said Kira. "Our mission is to test a new prototype in preparation for Operation Uroboros."

"So you'll be participating?" asked Caridad. Kira nodded.

"We'll be the centerpiece of establishing the new base," he said.

"So, you'll be on Earth for awhile."

"Actually, as I understand it, some of our terrestrial allies have prepared transports to send my Team and I back into space," said Kira. "It's not as cheap as a Mass Driver, but it'll work. They want my Team back up here almost as soon as the foundation for the base has been laid."

Caridad nodded silently.

"Mom? Is something wrong?" asked Kira.

Caridad thought about everything that was wrong. The war was a given, of course, but there was also Via, Rau, Reine, Cagalli and Canard. So much was wrong; so much pain had been caused because of Ulen.

And the worst part? Those experiments may well have been the only thing to save the lives of the million or so Coordinators living on Junius Seven to Junius Ten.

"No," said Caridad with a slight, proud smile as she looked at her son. "Nothing's wrong."

* * *

April 1st, Cosmic Era 70, Orbit over Northern Australia, Territory of the Oceania Union, Bridge of the _Philosopher_

"Commander? We're ready to begin the Operation," said Captain Hugh Jonathon. Grimly, Kira nodded, before turning to Julia.

"Are Shiho and the others ready?" asked Kira. Julia glanced over her shoulder and nodded. "Good." Kira then stood up and headed for the door of the bridge. "Captain Jonathon, the ship is yours."

"Yes sir," said Jonathon.

A few minutes later, Kira had donned his pilot suit and was sitting in the cockpit of his new machine, waiting.

The CGUE was, at its core, little more than an upgraded and updated variation of the GINN. But it was a powerful variant, with an estimated three times the performance of the original model.

The armor mass was the same, but it had been reinforced through mild innovations in the design. While not much tougher at first glance, that little bit of improvement could make all the difference in a real battle. The same could be said for its weapons: the new machine gun only had ten more rounds of ammo capacity, with an increased fire rate of about .5 rounds per second, and about five percent greater force to each round. The sword was a little heavier, but longer and more slender, with the materials simply being denser than those of the GINN sword, and the edge a fair bit sharper. The shield, something not included on regular GINNs, also mounted a 28mm vulcan. Where the differences in the CGUE and GINN really shined, though, were the thrusters. The CGUE mounted several additional maneuvering verniers, with thirty percent greater thruster output.

While outside of the thrusters, the individual improvements often seemed small, taken together they made for a supremely powerful machine, particularly in the hands of an ace pilot like Kira.

"_This is Defense Committee Chairman Patrick Zala to all ships,_" came the weary-sounding voice of Athrun's father. "_Not a month and a half has passed since the declaration of war against us, but we have already grown tired and weary of this fighting. But all our attempts at peaceful negotiations have failed. Though there have only been two major battles since the attack on our homeland, many minor skirmishes have taken place. Our allies on Earth need us, though. We must take the initiative now. It is with great regret that I inform you all that every one of our original plans have not been ones we could follow with any hope of success. Operation Uroboros is the only one we believe may succeed. And so, with a heavy heart, we must commit this next atrocity, if there is to be any hope to protect our homes, our allies, and hopefully be able to achieve an ultimately peaceful end to this war. Now, commence Operation. Fire N-jammers!_"

Kira's eyes snapped open as Julia's voice came over the intercom.

"_Commencing Operation,_" she said. "_We're firing N-jammers. Releasing entry capsule now. Good luck, Commander, Shiho._"

"Thanks Julia," said Kira as the _Philosopher_ released its drop pod and the six mobile suits contained therein, plunging them into the atmosphere.

Theirs was the riskiest part of the opening stages of Uroboros by far.

And their efforts would be critical to deciding its fate.

"We'll get through this team," said Kira over the radio. "I swear we will."

* * *

**Author's Note: Short, I know, but I hope everyone was able to enjoy it regardless. I decided to include Reine as a motive for Rau being a protagonist here, much as is the case that (more or less) occurred in _Gundam SEED The White Queen_. Anyways, I also introduce the captain of the _Philosopher_, Kira's new flagship, and get more of Caridad here, non-combat stuff involving Lacus, and the start of Operation Uroboros. Not only that, but Kira's gotten an upgrade from his original GINN to the more powerful CGUE.**

**Next chapter will feature Operation Uroboros in its earliest stages, as well as the Battle of Carpentaria to establish ZAFT's first terrestrial base. Look forward to it, and I apologize to Shiho-lovers over the fact that Shiho didn't get to do anything here. Also, for whatever reason, that scene with Caridad and Rau gave me the feel of being the foundation for a relationship between the two later on. I know it's crazy, but that's just how I see it, though it certainly wasn't my intent.**

**Oh well. I apologize, but it will be awhile before the next chapter, though hopefully not as long as the pause between this one and the last one.**

**Please leave a review and check out my other Gundam SEED fics, if you haven't already.**

**Ja ne!  
**


	4. Chapter 3: The Battle of Carpentaria

**Yep, that's right. The next chapter is finally out. Sorry for the delay--a lot's been going on for me. Anyways, here, we have part 1 of the Battle of Carpentaria. That's right--I've divided this battle into two chapters, mostly because of how I wanted to do part 2.**

**Also, a fair warning: we've reached the stage where OCs will be prominently introduced. After all, I need four OCs for Kira's team alone--to say nothing of other OCs, including those for the Alliance. How long any OCs stick around, I can't say for certain, though I suspect that at least two OCs in the Yamato Team will survive to mid-CE 71. However, whether those surviving OCs are members introduced partway through CE 70 or at this point in the story is up to debate.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED or any of the associated characters or mecha. However, I do own all OCs that have appeared in this story thus far.  
**

* * *

April 2nd, Cosmic Era 70, Orbit over Northern Australia, Territory of the Oceania Union, Bridge of the _Gamow_

"Commander Le Creuset? We're ready to begin," said Zelman. Rau nodded slightly, picking up the phone on the arm of his chair.

"This is Commander Rau Le Creuset to all ships," he said. "Yesterday, we fired N-jammers deep into the Earth's crust, nullifying all nuclear power on the planet and disrupting radio waves, throwing the entirety of the Earth Forces into disarray. Our goal, to achieve victory in this war and a hopefully peaceful resolution is to cut off the route to space by capturing all three of the Earth Alliance's Mass Drivers and ensure that they cannot attack and claim the Mass Driver of Orb. To accomplish this, we need to establish a foothold on the planet itself, which will also aid us in protecting our terrestrial allies. From here, we will drop a considerable military force, along with the disassembled components of a military base into the territory of our ally, the Oceania Union. Already, the Earth Forces Pacific Fleet is moving to try and stop us. For ZAFT, for the PLANTs, for our allies, we cannot allow this to happen. Now, all vessels are to begin the first phase of the drop operation."

Wearily, Rau set the phone back on its hook and sighed. This next battle would see a lot of death, with the potential for innocents to be caught in the crossfire. Not for the first time, Rau questioned if it was better to die for freedom than to live under tyranny.

"So, it's all up to the kid now," said Andy, standing next to Rau's seat. Rau nodded. "Guess I'll get going then. It'll probably be months before we meet again, so this is goodbye."

"Yes," said Rau, standing up and shaking Andy's hand. "It's been a pleasure serving with you, Commander Waltfeld."

"Likewise," said Andy. "Though I honestly didn't like you much at first, you're integrity has become all-too obvious amidst recent events."

Rau smirked. "Oh, don't worry," he said. "I've been in your _exact_ position before."

* * *

April 3rd, Cosmic Era 70, Gulf of Carpentaria

Within forty-eight hours of the initial drop, the foundations for the Carpentaria Base had been laid. But everyone was tense. They had less than an hour before fighting with the Pacific Fleet would begin. Every ZAFT pilot present was loaded into a mobile suit, while the Natural soldiers of the Oceania Union would be manning tanks, planes, attack helicopters and the gun emplacements, in some cases with support from ZAFT soldiers.

Even with the support of Oceania, though, the Pacific Fleet outnumbered the ZAFT forces by more than a ten-to-one margin. Fortunately, they'd already discovered that the gap between the performance of the GINNs and the performance of the terrestrial and aerial vehicles they'd be facing was even greater than the gap between GINNs and Moebiuses. Despite that, the battle would be tough.

"How is everyone holding up?" asked Andy, sipping at the coffee he'd made. Even that didn't really serve to calm his nerves much.

"As best as can be expected, given the circumstances," said Colonel Davenport, a soldier of Oceania, taking a sip of the same brew. "Ah… you make a good cup of coffee, Commander Waltfeld."

"Thanks, but I'm really not in the mood for it," said Andy, sighing. "A lot of people are going to die on both sides. I know the Earth Forces are definitely the 'bad guys' here, but that's simply because the leadership is controlled by Blue Cosmos."

"Perhaps, but the problem with good soldiers is that they tend to be too good at obeying orders," said Davenport. "Even when they believe their enemies have the right of it, they'll still follow orders. Run into a meaningless battle because it's what they've been told to do. That's how war's fought. That's why I hate it."

"Well… we'll change that," said Andy. "No matter what."

* * *

Orb Union, Orb Parliament Building

"Orb needs mobile suits," insisted Rondo Ghina Sahaku. "Surely this illustrates that. We've readied our defense forces—Carpentaria isn't far from here. But what can our forces hope to do if the fighting does eventually reach our shores?"

"Orb will _not_ work with the Alliance on mobile suit development," said Uzumi. "Nor will we seek ZAFT's technological aid in the development of such. If we are to develop mobile suits, we will do it on our own, obeying the ideals of Orb, as we must for the peaceful existence of our people."

"Lord Uzumi, I agree that our ideals are important," said Unato Ema Seiran. "But do you not think that they are nothing more than foolish ideology at times like this? If we are attacked, we will be crushed, and the lives of many will be lost."

"If we take a side in a conflict, Orb will inevitably be attacked," countered Serenity Sakaeru Taiyonoha. "And once our esteemed 'allies' have our technology, what worth is a small nation like ours to them? The Alliance won't aid us should we be attacked. ZAFT might, but they don't have the resources for it either."

"And if were to take a side in this war, our technology and people would inevitably be employed by our 'allies' to attack their enemies," added Uzumi. "If we get involved, we would only be adding to the never-ending chain of conflict and vengeance."

"We will hear no more on this subject," said Narihira Uchida Yagami, the head of Orb's fifth and final Noble House. "The opinions of cowardly Seirans and power-hungry Sahakus will not be tolerated when it comes to the ideals of our nation."

"Lord Narihira, that's out of line," said Serenity sharply. "However, you are at least partially correct. The ideals of our nation must be absolute. When the tides of conflict wash away all others, we will remain strong, a lone island against the vicious sea of war. That is what Orb stands for; I will not see it torn away for anything other than the sake of the people of Orb as a whole."

Uzumi nodded his head in agreement. "This meeting is adjourned," he said. "There is nothing more to be discussed here."

* * *

Gulf of Carpentaria, Five Hours Later

"All right everyone, this is it!" said Andy, powering up his GINN. "If we fail here, then it's all over. The PLANTs will be vulnerable, and we will have no efficient base from which to aid our allies. If we fall to the Earth Forces here, then none of us will be going home to our friends and loved ones. Today, all of you fighting for the PLANTs and for Oceania are soldiers of ZAFT, fighting against the oppression of the Alliance for the independence of our homelands. For the sake of our homeland in space, for the sake of the people of Oceania, and for a future of peace that will never end, we _will_ survive, and we _will_ win the battle this day! For ZAFT!"

The next cry was a unified one that came from both the soldiers of the PLANTs and the soldiers of the Oceania Union.

"_For ZAFT!_"

With that, the forces at the coast around the Carpentaria base foundation opened fire on the approaching Alliance naval forces, and the Battle of Carpentaria began.

* * *

Bridge of the _Gamow_, Holding Orbit over the Gulf of Carpentaria 

"Sir, it's begun," said Zelman. Rau nodded, sighing lightly as he picked up the phone on his armchair to send a fleet wide message for the second time in as many days.

"This is Commander Rau Le Creuset to all vessels," he said, repeating his first words from yesterday. "The battle has begun. You all know what this means. To the brave souls preparing to drop into the heart of a combat zone, I wish you all the best of luck. As you risk your lives to protect your allies on the surface and your loved ones in the PLANTs, may fortune smile upon you this day, that you might live to see another and return to the loved ones awaiting you with open arms."

Rau paused, concealing a sigh as he gave the next order, one that would send many, far too many, good men and women to their deaths.

"Commence combat drop."

* * *

Gulf of Carpentaria

"Here they come!" said Andy, firing his machinegun on a formation of fighters flying his way, cutting down the entire formation without effort. In the skies overhead, dozens upon dozens of glowing drop pods fell towards the battle, and the Earth Forces, realizing what was about to happen, quickly began turning their guns skyward.

"Not a chance in hell!" said Andy, rushing forward. The orange, blue and gold GINN leapt forward, thrusters blazing as Andy drew his sword. His machinegun blazed, destroying several tanks as he landed on the ground, swinging his sword through another one. As a pair of GINNs to either side of him were gunned down by fighters and tanks, Andy again rushed forward, intent on getting at the _Jones_-class battleships aiming their massive linear cannons skyward.

Andy ducked under a missile shot by a fighter, spinning around and firing at it with his machinegun. The fighter evaded however, spinning about to fire at him with its vulcans. Andy dodged back and fired again, this time clipping the wing of the fighter and sending it tumbling to the ground.

A flash of light in the corner of his eye caught Andy's attention. He spun about to see the linear cannons on the Alliance battleships smoking, and, looking up, he saw the falling wreckage of over a half-dozen drop pods.

"Ugh, damn it," cursed Andy. Admittedly, it was a wise move on the part of the Alliance, but it was also a cowardly one. Privately, he wondered how many of them realized that. "We have to get to those battleships! Don't let them shoot down any more of the drop pods!"

As Andy once again opened up on a tank formation, mobile suits and fighters coming to his aid, over a dozen fighter squads suddenly appeared, letting off a furious barrage. Some of the missiles were gunned down, and Andy ducked behind cover along with several other GINNs.

But the rest of them, as well as the Oceanian fighters, had no such cover as the surviving missiles struck them, destroying over a dozen fighters and crippling at least a half-dozen GINNs, damaging many more.

"Don't let up!" shouted Andy, peaking out from behind cover to fire his machinegun. "We cannot afford to lose this battle!"

As Andy spoke, though, the linear cannons lit the sky once more. Fortunately, it was at that moment that the pods reached a safe altitude to release their loads, and over a hundred more mobile suits began their descent upon the battlefield.

* * *

The _Gamow_

"What did you say?!"

Rau rushed from his seat to stare at the display for the sensor operator, as though hoping the man had been lying to him.

"The Earth Forces 7th Orbital Fleet is moving to intercept our forces," repeated the sensor operator, a hint of nervousness in his voice. "They're already preparing to deploy mobile armors."

Rau bit off a vicious curse as he spun around and rushed to the tactical display at the back of the bridge. The 7th Fleet, at over a hundred ships, was the largest single, cohesive military force in space. It was based out of the Endymion Crater Base, which had actually been developed for the express purpose of maintaining that massive fleet.

The forces at Rau's disposal were far too limited to achieve victory against the 7th Fleet. Almost all of their forces had already been deployed, and all Rau had left was three dozen frigates—most of them new and still somewhat temperamental—and only one or two mobile suits per ship. In contrast to the undermanned ZAFT fleet with only fifty or so mobile suits, the Alliance fleet was fully manned, with at least three hundred mobile armors, including some two dozen Moebiues Zeros.

Rau bit off another vicious curse. In a contest of mobile suit against mobile armor, the ZAFT forces might be able to cut things even and defeat the Alliance armors, but at the cost of every last one of their lives. But factor in the ships, and ZAFT was very clearly doomed for this battle.

But they couldn't retreat, either.

"Send a message to all ships," said Rau, not even bothering to hide his resignation. "We're going to engage the enemy. We cannot allow them the opportunity to offer support in any form to the naval forces on Earth."

* * *

Gulf of Carpentaria

"Damn it," cursed Jonas, a ZAFT commander as his team of GINNs, along with several others, bunkered down in a trench to evade heavy fire by an Alliance tank corps. They'd done some damage to the Earth Forces, but not even the GINNs could stand up to the heavy fire they were under.

Jonas spun around, rising momentarily above the trench to fire viciously at the tanks before quickly ducking back down. At an estimate, he'd only gotten one or two tanks though. Two of his teammates who'd also taken potshots had probably gotten the same, but one of them hadn't been fortunate enough, and his GINN was now crippled, though thankfully, the powerplant hadn't been hit, and the mobile suit wasn't destroyed completely.

Jonas grit his teeth. A single GINN could likely deal with several tanks at once, but their position was under assault by over five dozens of the armored vehicles. The heavy fire was too much for them to handle.

"We can't afford to lose here!" shouted Jonas. "For the PLANTs and Oceania!"

With that said, the ZAFT commander performed what he knew would be his final, reckless act as he picked up the machine gun of the crippled GINN and emerged from the trench, firing recklessly into the Earth Forces tank corps.

It was less than fifteen seconds later that the GINN was annihilated by the heavy fire. Imitating their commander's recklessness, the remainder of Jonas's team grabbed all the weapons available and charged from the trench.

"For ZAFT!"

Elsewhere, another group of GINNs was exchanging fire with another Alliance tank corps. From within a trench, but they were doing far better than Jonas's team was. However, that soon changed as fighter jets descended on the GINNs from above.

"Damn it!" shouted one ZAFT pilot, firing at the fighters descending on him and his friends. Suddenly, missiles streaked in and destroyed several Alliance fighters, allowing the GINNs to easily mop them up. The ZAFT soldiers turned their attention to their saviors, only to see several Oceania fighter squadrons fly past and let loose a barrage of missiles straight into the tank corps trapping them.

"Don't let up!" shouted Andy over the radio, advancing steadily towards the waterfront, GINNs, tanks and fighters at his side, steadily pushing the Alliance lines back in several key areas on the waterfront. "If we can just destroy the battleships and carriers, we can win this battle!"

That was easier said than done, though. With nothing in the sky to distract them anymore, the _Jones_-class battleships turned their linear cannons back to the battle on land. A flash of light and the cannons spewed smoke as everyone broke apart to try and evade.

Andy and several others bunkered down in another of the trenches that had been made in preparation for this battle as the large projectiles impacted with the force and speed of small meteors, forming craters in the ground from the sheer kinetic energy. Andy grit his teeth in frustration. At the going rate, everything was over for them.

But they couldn't afford to lose…

"Kira… we're counting on you," whispered Andy.

At that instant, everything changed.

* * *

The _Gamow_

"This is Rau Le Creuset, I'm taking off!" called Rau as his GINN shot forth from the catapult. The masked man grit his teeth as he charged forward, intent on stopping the 7th Fleet before it could into position to assist the Pacific Fleet on the surface.

As the Earth Forces approached, Rau opened fire with his machinegun, cutting into a Moebius formation as the armors broke apart and attempted to surround him. Rau fired at one Moebius while charging another with sword drawn. The first mobile armor exploded, while the second fired its linear cannon. Rau dodged the round, but the Moebius continued its assault with vulcans and missiles. Rau dodged one missile, cut apart another, and allowed his armor to absorb the bullets as his sword cut across space and sliced the Earth Forces mobile armor in half.

Elsewhere, other GINNs fought against the Alliance's mass produced mobile armors, and several broke through, making a run for the carriers of the 7th Fleet.

Unfortunately, they were cut off as fire came in from several angles, and while a few rounds were dodged, the bulk connected with the GINNs, destroying them. The Moebius Zeroes withdrew their gunbarrels, turning towards the fray.

Sitting in the cockpit of one of those red, prototype mobile armors, Mu La Flaga sighed lightly. He didn't like this—there had to be a better way than all this bloodshed. However, Mu was certain Blue Cosmos had too much control for a peaceful solution to be easy, if it was even possible.

Mu didn't blame ZAFT for what it had done on Earth. This was war, and it was one that ZAFT couldn't afford to lose. Information was kept hidden as best as could be expected from the masses, but rumors had floated around for a while that the PLANTs had spent their last two months on the defensive trying to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, even as Alliance battlegroup after Alliance battlegroup took a shot at the PLANTs.

"Guess we've got no choice," muttered Mu in resignation. As one, the Moebius Zero pilots flew into the fray.

Rau grimaced as he destroyed yet another Moebius. He'd learned that forgotten value of human life long ago, and it twisted his stomach to stain his hands with blood, especially knowing that these men and women he now killed were likely innocent of the evils of Blue Cosmos.

A familiar sensation invaded Rau's mind at that instant, and he pulled his GINN up and away as projectiles poured in from all sides. His eyes were drawn to a Moebius Zero as it approached him, recalling its deadly gunbarrels. Rau sighed.

"So it's you again, Mu La Flaga," he whispered, dodging and returning fire. "What a twisted web of hatred and deceit has been woven around us. May this war end and lift the veil of hatred before I must unravel the web that binds the truth of our shared origins."

With that said, Rau charged forward with Mu, the two viciously exchanging fire.

Nearby, five GINNs surrounded and attempted to assault a unique black Moebius Zero. The pilot evaded their attacks with a preternatural grace and deployed gunbarrels. The GINNs attempted to evade, but the black gunbarrels proved difficult to spot, and soon, all five GINNs were reduced to burning wreckage under a barrage of heavy fire. The black Zero withdrew the gunbarrels, and the pilot turned, eyes scanning the battlefield.

The pilot of that deadly mobile armor was a woman in her early twenties of Japanese descent named Yukari Komatsu. The top ace of the Moebius Zero corps, the woman was also known as the Demon of Endymion—a top gun who'd never taken a hit in any of her battles and fought with equal efficiency against mobile suits and mobile armors alike.

The black mobile armor soon turned and shot off towards the ZAFT frigates.

Miguel Aiman panted, bringing his sword down on a Moebius. He'd destroyed eight of the mobile armors already, but as always, they were as persistent and numerous as flies. Although, being honest, Miguel thought bees might've been a better reference.

A warning alarm sounded, and Miguel instinctively pulled to the side just in time to avoid being skewered by cannon fire. Spinning around, the blond raised his machinegun and fired.

Kane Rodriguez let out a vicious yell as he fired the heavy missiles loaded onto his GINN. Several were shot down, but the rest connected with the _Agamemnon_-class carrier's bridge and engines. Finding an opening blown by the heavy weapons, Kane drew his machinegun and fired into them, soon causing the ship to buckle and explode as fires spread.

He'd fought in numerous battles, and he'd always come out of it okay, if a little battered. He swore that this time would be no different.

As a dozen Moebiuses swarmed in, Kane let out another yell, recklessly charging forward, evading fire as best he could. Even still, his green mobile suit took hits, including a missile that took off its leg as several of the mobile armors exploded under Kane's fire. Kane roared, slicing apart a Moebius with his sword.

But that was the end for him, as another Moebius suddenly appeared in front of him. It's linear cannon and missiles were gone, so the Alliance pilot simply fired his vulcans as fast as he could. A lucky shot pierced the GINN's armor as Kane brought his sword down on the pest, and the 40mm bullet pierced the ZAFT pilot's throat.

Nearby, Hilda Harken dodged shot after shot, occasionally returning fire with her Barrus heavy cannon. The woman moved quickly and was well aware of her surroundings, despite the loss of her eye during the Battle of Yggdrasil. Determined to see this battle through to the end, Hilda refused to be downed by anyone or anything, firing her cannon straight into the bridge of a _Nelson_-class battleship.

Elsewhere, the duel between Rau Le Creuset and Mu La Flaga continued to drag on. The GINN had lost its machinegun and one of its thrusters, while the Zero had lost two of its four gunbarrels. Both men grit their teeth as the battle continued, Mu taking advantage of Rau's lost weapon and keeping at a distance.

As the two drifted past the wreckage of a frigate and battleship that had crashed into one another, Rau vanished, only to appear from within the husks of the warships and crush one of the gunbarrels under its foot. Mu cursed, bringing himself around to attack, but Rau gripped the wire of the destroyed gunbarrel and pulled with everything his GINN had, yanking the Moebius Zero into a tumble. This gave the ZAFT commander the opening he needed, as his sword cut through the last of the gunbarrels.

Mu retracted the wires to prevent Rau from repeating the earlier maneuver. This was the second time the two had fought, the first time being the Valentine's Battle. This time, there was no unexpected interruption, and the two were allowed to complete their duel.

Simultaneously, the two charged, linear cannon lighting space as the GINN blazed in, evading the lightning quick projectiles.

The two clashed, Rau's sword cutting straight into the linear cannon at the same time Mu fired, sending a projectile flying straight into the sword.

An explosion later and mobile suit and mobile armor were drifting apart, both unarmed and crippled.

On the _Gamow_, Captain Zelman stared fearfully at the black mobile armor that had crippled his ship and now had all of its weapons locked on the bridge. But like all the other frigates, the _Gamow_ was spared as the Moebius Zero began to pull back.

At that moment, the _Achilles_, flagship of the 7th Fleet, sent out a retreat flare. Yukari stared at the flare emotionlessly, already certain as to what happened.

The 7th Fleet had been sabotaged.

As the Earth Forces retreated, the Demon of Endymion glanced back at the ZAFT fleet.

"Not a single worthy foe," she whispered. "Kira Yamato… you must be on the surface today. One day though, we'll meet in battle. I look forward to it."

* * *

**Author's Notes: So, what did everyone think? ZAFT has won the battle in orbit, for now, thanks to acts of sabotage against the 7th Fleet. We get the return (if only briefly) of Mu La Flaga, as well as a cameo by Miguel Aiman. Furthermore, I introduce an OC who will likely be prominent midway through "part 1" of this story (part 2 is the events of CE 71 and the series proper).**

**You know, I really enjoy this story. With most fics, I focus heavily on particular characters. While that's still true here, I wanted to bring in the full scope of the war, and thus, at times, my main characters will be shoved to the side. Here, they were referenced, but never actually appeared. I apologize to everyone for that--the next chapter will be focused on those main characters, as well as the OC pilots of the Yamato Team.**

**Anyways, I think this story will be getting more attention in the future. I'll have questions for everyone about some of my OCs, but, for now, I'll leave it all here.**

**I hope everyone enjoyed this, and please leave a review! Ja ne!  
**


	5. Chapter 4: The Turning Point

**Well, to start, sorry this update has taken so long. My basic priority amongst my stories, at the moment, is _Gundam SEED Serenity_, followed by _Dark Angel of Freedom_. The rest are just "whenever I get to them".**

**Second, an anonymous review has stuck with me since I posted the last chapter: the appearance of the Taiyonoha Sovereign from _Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Dauntless_ and its sequel. Now, to start, the reason for Serenity's appearance was primarily convenience-I'd already established the Taiyonoha as an Orb noble house in another fic, why not use them to fill the empty slots here? And as to the second matter on that subject: Makoto will be making at least two, maybe three, notable appearances, but she's primarily a background character at this point. _If_ she becomes a more important supporting character will largely be up to whether people want to see her or not. For those who few who "like" the character but disliked her prominence in the other fics, even if she does become a "regular" supporting character, the only instance in which she'd move into a more prominent role would be introducing an _actual_ love triangle dynamic to Kira's character, as it's not something he's had in any of my fics (the closest is _SEED Serenity_), nor did he have one in canon (since his relationships with Flay and Lacus never "collided").**

***Shrug* ****In any case, that's all circumstantial. All OCs in this story exist on a "take it or leave it" basis. The main characters are Kira Yamato and Shiho Hahnenfuss, and OCs are only supporting characters here-as opposed to some of my others, where OCs are major/leading characters.**

**Alright, moving on, we have the conclusion to the Battle of Carpentaria here, and the introduction of the new pilots under Kira's command.**

**Special Thanks: to Tellemicus Sundance for beta-reading this chapter.  
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED or any of the associated characters or mecha. I own all OCs appearing in this chapter (I may give OCs of friends cameos, with their permission).  
**

* * *

April 1st, Cosmic Era 70, Upper Atmosphere of Northern Australia, Territory of the Oceania Union

The capsule shook violently as it descended on the Earth, rattling the occupants who kept a tight grip on the controls of their machines, even knowing they wouldn't be able to do anything about their discomfort.

It was difficult, being forced to rely entirely on technology. There was no human element in this reentry—they had no influence over it, and as gravity gripped them, their discomfort grew. Their lives were left to fate now.

Kira, however, was confident. He was certain they'd be fine. He watched grimly as the display screens of his CGUE showed him the descent of the N-jammers. While not what one would normally define as small, compared to the mass of the Earth, they were like tiny specks of dust.

Those little devices were ZAFT's ultimate weapon, and the key to Operation Uroboros. Hundreds of them descended vengefully on the Earth, ready to bury themselves deep within the planet's crust. When they did, they'd switch from their internal power source to drawing thermal energy from the Earth's core, and they wouldn't shut down until they were removed from that energy source.

Their presence would disrupt radio waves across the planet, creating chaos in the Earth Forces Battlenet. However, it would also disrupt all nuclear power on the planet—which was, by far, the riskiest aspect of the entire Operation, as it threatened to turn more people against ZAFT. Many of the nations of Earth relied heavily on nuclear power, with the only notable exception being the Orb Union, which used thermal energy, much like the PLANTs, though that energy was drawn primarily from the Earth rather than the sun. The Oceania Union and African Community would also be able to recover quickly, as they would have the aid of ZAFT and the PLANTs, providing them with an alternative energy source.

The shaking began to decrease as the capsule broke through the upper atmosphere, and Kira let out a small sigh. He could sense his team becoming more comfortable, as the situation was now less out of control. Kira didn't blame them, either—he did not like placing his life and those of his teammates, plus all the people counting on them for the Operation, in the hands of a computer, no matter how confident he was that they'd get through.

"The hard part's over," said Kira. "All that's left to do is sit and wait for our part, now."

* * *

"All right everyone, that's enough!" called Kira as he shut the open port on the leg of his CGUE. He stood up straight, stretching his body completely, and heard bones cracking. Sighing lightly, Kira walked away from his machine to the table that had been set up in the middle of the capsule, ready to take the last bit of relaxation available to him.

It had been hours since the capsule hit the surface and sunk to the bottom of the ocean, along with many N-jammers that served to hide the true nature of the capsule. Once they'd hit the ocean floor, everyone immediately went to work on their machines and the supplementary weapons chosen for this mission, unwilling to leave anything to mere chance.

Listening to Kira's words, the others wrapped up their work and followed their commander's lead to the table, everyone taking a seat. It was going to be a long wait for them.

Silently, Kira studied the four additions to the team he'd had with Shiho in the opening weeks of the war. The people first added to the team had been overeager—after a skirmish or two, Kira knocked them down several pegs and had them reassigned to reserve duty until they could clear up their heads. The next group had been far better, and included two of those currently sitting around the table with him, Allan Reagan and Kazuya Nonomura.

Allan was a third generation Coordinator whose grandparents had been born in the Atlantic Federation and had been among the first workers in the PLANTs. He was eighteen years old, with messy dark brown hair, sharp features, and reddish-orange eyes. The young man was confident in himself, and with good reason—when he'd graduated, he was at the top of his Academy class.

Kazuya was a different story. A second generation Coordinator whose ancestry laid in Japan, within the East Asian Republic, Kazuya had lost his father at a young age, and his attachment to the man had led to a falling out with his mother when she remarried. Kazuya was twenty years old, had shoulder-blade length white hair and intense blue eyes that hid all emotion. He was a calm man who kept cool under pressure, and probably Kira's second choice for wingman.

The next member had joined as a lone replacement for Allan and Kazuya's companions, who'd been shot down in battle. His name was Thanos Sho, and he was of mixed European and Asian heritage. The oldest of the pilots at twenty-four, Thanos possessed messy black hair that he'd never been able to control, features that were almost frighteningly sharp, and dark azure eyes. Thanos was handy with both guns and the sword, and was likely the most versatile on the team after Kira.

The latest addition to the team had been made just before the Operation. Kira had no idea how the young woman would perform, but like Allan, she'd been the top of her class at graduation.

Miyu Sakamoto was Kazuya's half-sister, and it was clear that he was rather protective of her, despite the falling out with their mother; something Kira feared may become a weakness in battle. Unlike Kazuya, her waist-length hair was a mix between silver and brown; the color seeming to shift depending on the angle one viewed it at. Her features were soft, and her eyes also seemed to shift between grey-blue and violet-blue. At fifteen years old, she was only a few months younger than Kira, but that still left her as the youngest on the team. She was neither overly enthusiastic, nor overly serious, which Kira thought was a good attitude to have. Overall, she reminded him slightly of himself and Shiho, though that might have been her age.

There was something besides her age that made Miyu special within the team: she wasn't pureblood Coordinator. Her father was a Natural, making her one of those rare 'half-blood' Coordinators. However, thus far, there had seemed little difference between Miyu and other Coordinators.

Kira sighed. The next few days would be hard, with the six of them locked together in the capsule, waiting for the approaching storm. They'd only have one another for company, and that made the young commander uncomfortable, knowing that at least one of them—most likely Miyu—would almost certainly die during the battle.

It was difficult, getting to know someone under those circumstances. But they would all be cooped up in this pod for a while—there wasn't really anything better to do.

* * *

"Kazuya," said Kira. "We need to talk."

"Sir?" questioned the white-haired man.

It was the second night after their landing, and the intelligence that was coming in told them the battle would be tomorrow. As such, everyone was making sure they were completely prepared.

"When the fighting starts, I want you to work as Allan's wingman," said Kira. Kazuya stiffened slightly.

"But sir, I–"

"You're far too protective of Miyu," said Kira sternly. "Believe me, I understand the importance of family. My father died before the war even began. But if you obsess over it, you'll put not only yourself, but Miyu and the entire team in danger. You need to trust her to look after herself."

"This will be her first battle."

"Which means it would be better to leave in Thanos's care," replied Kira. "If Miyu doesn't get the chance to grow, she'll always rely on you, and you'd be carrying the weight of two people. When that overwhelms you, where will that leave her? She won't quit, either—it doesn't take a genius to recognize her drive. The best thing you can do for her is to leave her alone."

Kazuya was silent for a moment, then acknowledged Kira's order with a nod and walked away.

Across the hangar, Miyu watched her brother walk away from their commander before she sighed and returned her attention to her GINN.

She hated Kazuya's over-protectiveness. Actually, for the most part, she disliked Kazuya in general. He'd caused no end of trouble for her family, including a constant tension between her mother and father. When she joined ZAFT, he'd even tried to get her to leave in order to keep her safe.

Miyu sighed, shaking off the negative thoughts regarding her brother that were flowing through her head. She needed to stay focused.

* * *

Kira let out a faint sigh, his grip on the controls of his CGUE tightening. The time had come, the battle had started, and now, they just had to wait until they could actually launch.

Their part in the Operation was absolutely critical—everything hinged on the performance of the Yamato Team. It was a lot of pressure, but none of them considered that. Their task was simple: arm themselves with all the heavy weaponry they could muster, exit the pod once it was completely flooded, move underneath the Earth Forces ships, and blast them to pieces. The loss of the ships and the ensuing chaos, while the bulk of their forces were at land, would serve to promise a ZAFT victory.

"Kazuya, remember what I said," said Kira.

"_I will sir._" Somehow, Kira wasn't certain he was telling the truth.

"_I don't need your protection,_" said Miyu. "_I can look after myself, Kazuya._"

Kazuya was silent in response.

"_Hey, stop worrying, if she gets in a bind, I'll be there to look after her,_" said Thanos.

"_And I won't let you off easy if you leave me hanging,_" added Allan. Kazuya remained silent. Kira sighed and switched over to his private comm. line with Shiho.

"He's gonna get himself killed," he said sadly.

"_At the very least,_" said Shiho, nodding in agreement from her GINN. "_He's starting to annoy me. Why was she placed in this unit when he was already here?_"

"She's a Red," said Kira. "That's all they're putting on this team."

"_Well when this is done, make sure you get to pick who to put in this team from now on._"

"Don't worry, I will," he said reassuringly. A few minutes later and the capsule was completely flooded. The GINNs were all loaded down with torpedo launchers on the legs, heavy torpedoes on the arms, and a bazooka strapped to their back. The CGUE, however, was only armed with the torpedo launchers on the legs and a bazooka with four magazines for heavy weapons. Kira would only be using these weapons for the opening salvo.

Kira stepped his machine up to the hatch, then sent the command to the computer systems. The hatch opened, and the CGUE stepped out onto the ocean floor. As he continued to walk forward, clearing the hatch for his team, Kira looked up towards the surface.

There they were. He could see surface explosions and the bottoms of numerous naval vessels. At present, ZAFT had none of these, and the Oceania navy was waiting for the Yamato Team's assault before they would come in. Still, best to be cautious.

"Alright team, let's get going," he said. "Head for the largest ships, those should be the _Jones_-class. But make sure you're IFF tags them Earth Forces before you send the signal that you're ready."

"_Yes sir._"

The six ZAFT mobile suits walked along the ocean floor until they were right under the fleet. Kira looked up and sighed again before pushing off from the floor and heading towards one of the largest ships.

Ordinarily, the Earth Forces naval ships would've detected at least some unusual activity. But unlike submarines, they didn't use sonar, and so, the N-jammers would blind them to the presence of enemy mobile suits in the water.

Kira settled himself right up under the battleship, his IFF tagging it as the Earth Forces naval battleship _Olympia_. He drew his sword, and waited.

"_This is Shiho. I'm in position._"

"_Allan here, in position._"

"_Miyu, ready any time._"

"_This is Thanos. I'm also in position._"

"_Kazuya here, ready._"

Kira nodded, twisting his CGUE a little so the leg-mounted torpedo launchers would fire at a nearby carrier.

"Begin."

* * *

The change happened so fast that it caught virtually all of the combatants completely off-guard as five of the seven _Jones_-class battleships, and a _Tarawa_-class carrier suddenly went up in smoke. Confusion spread through the Earth Forces lines, and the ZAFT soldiers were quick to seize on it, gunning down numerous fighters and tanks with very few losses, both for ZAFT and for Oceania.

Suddenly, a sixth battleship's engines exploded, and something shot out from the deck and started moving around like a shark fin, cutting off a section. Then, through the newly cut hole emerged a new mobile suit. It looked like the GINN, but was obviously much more powerful, and painted in the familiar white and black colors of the leader of the Yamato Team. The seventh battleship suddenly detonated, and five GINNs, a deep blue one and four in standard green, jumped up from the water, landing on the decks of the Earth Forces naval ships.

The blue GINN snatched up its sword and cut the bridge tower of the cruiser it had landed on, while one of the green GINNs did the same on the carrier it had come out on top of. The CGUE fired its Cattus rifle at another carrier, the heavy round slamming right into the bridge. Kira fired the remaining three rounds, each precisely aimed shot taking out the bridge of yet another carrier, while two of the newly arrived GINNs fired off the last of their torpedoes at the two remaining carriers, sinking them.

"Alright team, get to work!" ordered Kira, leaping off the smoking husk of the _Olympia_ and landing on a cruiser. He swung his sword through the bridge tower before the crew could react, and aimed his machine gun at the deck. The three-inch rounds tore through the unarmored deck like tissue paper, and Kira jumped off as the cruiser began to explode, moving on down the line, his teammates mimicking his actions.

By this point, the Earth Forces finally made some recovery, and tanks began to fire even more wildly, while fighters turned to try and stop the six mobile suits rampaging across their fleet.

Bad idea, as it made it even easier for the Oceania fighters, gun emplacements, and the properly positioned mobile suits to gun down even more.

Then the battle became sealed as dozens of new fighter squads soared in, followed by the Oceania navy.

Kira ducked under fire from a CIWS and returned fire with his gun and vulcan, peppering the cruiser with holes. He landed on it, the sudden added seventy-eight ton weight crashing atop it causing the ship to shake violently before Kira made a diagonal cut on the bow of the ship, causing it to rapidly fill with water and begin to sink.

An Earth Forces fighter shot off several missiles at the back of the seemingly clueless CGUE. But Kira had a very acute danger sense and superhuman reflexes, spinning about and swinging his long, slender sword through the air, cutting all of the missiles apart. The fighter pilot could only stare in horror and disbelief that anyone could possibly do that before the CGUE's mono-eye flashed red and the vulcan on the shield peppered the fighter with bullets.

Near the back of the fleet, Miyu had managed to destroy several cruisers and destroyers. At close range, their SAMs and torpedoes were useless, and the CIWS simply not powerful enough to penetrate the thick armor of the GINN. She now landed on the _Tarawa_-class carrier at the back of the fleet. Before she could strike, though, the ship launched a trio of flares.

The retreat signal.

Miyu lowered her sword, and let out a small sigh. She was wary, though—it was possible that this was all a trick, though it would certainly be against naval tradition.

"_Miyu, I've got them covered, go ahead and pull back,_" said Thanos. Miyu nodded, and retreated from the carrier towards the coast.

* * *

"To all those who have been lost," said Andy, raising his wine glass. Everyone present—the surviving senior Oceania officers, ZAFT commanders, and the Yamato Team—echoed his words, raising their own glasses, before they all drank.

ZAFT had won by far its most significant victory to date. It was the first time they'd taken the initiative, instead of playing it on the defense. The new base in the Gulf of Carpentaria was well on its way, the foundations solid, and the Earth Forces Pacific Fleet routed.

"And to the Yamato Team as well," added Admiral Brucey Roberts, the leader of the Oceania Fleet that had come to the battle, raising his own glass. "For making this victory possible."

The Yamato Team did not raise their glasses this time, but did accept the praise with good grace.

The ZAFT and Oceania forces had suffered a lot of casualties, but many more had survived due to the surprise attack the Yamato Team launched right in the middle of the Pacific Fleet. Amazingly, none of Kira's pilots took anything more than minor damage.

But while ZAFT had achieved a major victory on the ground, all of them knew that they were extremely lucky. Had the ZAFT forces in space not held the line long enough for the apparent sabotage to force the 7th Orbital Fleet into retreat, then the Battle of Carpentaria would've been the nail in the coffin for ZAFT's war efforts.

"This doesn't feel right," said Miyu a short while later. "So many people died today…"

"In war, you learn to take what celebrations you can, wherever you can," said Shiho sympathetically. Today was the girl's first time in combat. Despite that, she'd done remarkably well, taking less damage than Kazuya and scoring more kills than Thanos.

"Shiho's right," said Kira, walking over to them. "You did well today Miyu."

"Commander?" Sufficed to say, Miyu was surprised to be receiving praise from her CO—after all, Kira was a legend, no matter how you sliced it.

Shiho laughed lightly before turning to Kira. "So, how is the CGUE anyway?" she asked.

"It handles remarkably well," he said, shrugging slightly. "It's a formidable machine, and will probably be a great help on the frontlines."

"That's great to hear," said Andy, joining the three. "We could use all the help we can get. Much as I don't like to admit it, the only reason we won this battle was because of the confusion the six of you sowed through the enemy ranks when you attacked the fleet."

"And have you heard from Rau? What's his condition?" asked Shiho.

"Better than he was when they brought him back aboard," replied their old teammate. "He says the _Philosopher_'s ready to pick all of you up any time now." Kira nodded.

"That's good to hear," he said. "I'd like to get home."

"I think we all would," said Shiho. Andy nodded.

"I can understand that," he said. "Well, I guess when you guys launch back into space, that'll be goodbye. I'll be staying here as part of our terrestrial forces."

"I'm sorry to hear that," said Kira. Andy shook his head.

"Don't be," he said. "I knew that it was a possibility from the moment I chose to join ZAFT. So don't worry about it." With that, he gave a slight nod and walked away.

"So, that was Commander Waltfeld?" asked Miyu.

"Yes," said Kira. "He's a good man, and a better friend."

* * *

April 7th, Cosmic Era 70, PLANT Aprilius One, Capital of the PLANTs, Chambers of the Supreme Council

It was a hero's welcome that the Yamato Team came home too. None of them were at all caught off-guard, but Kira had most definitely been hoping things would be quiet.

Fat chance. After all, he was perhaps, reluctantly, the greatest symbol ZAFT could field. At this point, he was beginning to doubt there was anyone, anywhere who didn't know his name.

Thus, instead of getting to relax, the Yamato Team got more media attention. It was thoroughly irritating—even the rookie Miyu thought so.

But after hours of it, things finally winded down, and the Yamato Team now stood before the Supreme Council, save for the curiously absent Orson White.

"I'd like to extend my congratulations on your success," said Siegel. "Thanks to you, things finally seem to be looking up for us."

"We were simply doing our duties, sir," replied Kira. Ezalia chuckled slightly.

"Commander Yamato, you and your team have consistently performed above and beyond the line of mere duty," she said. "We've studied everything we have thoroughly, from media outlets to video footage and the reports of the soldiers on the frontlines. Not only did you turn the tide of that battle as nothing else could've, but you also demonstrated a moral righteousness that few soldiers could've displayed."

"She's right," said Yuri Amalfi. "You all performed beyond what could be expected of any of you, not only routing the enemy fleet, but doing so with a relatively low casualty count—with the exception of the _Jones_-class battleships, most of the crew of almost every ship you sank managed to escape without fatal injuries. Sadly, there were still some casualties, but the numbers were far below what anyone could've expected."

Suddenly, the door to the Council Chambers open.

"Sorry I'm late," said Caridad, stepping through the doors and closing them behind her. "I was working out the final details with Orson."

"That's fine, Caridad," said Patrick, smiling as he turned to the clearly confused Kira. "Would you care to enlighten our reluctant hero of just what is going on?"

Caridad smiled. "Of course," she said, turning to Kira. "You do want to know, right?"

"Of course," said Kira. "Mom, I'm glad to see you, but what are you doing here?"

"Because of the N-jammers, Chairman White stepped down," said Caridad, a sad note entering her tone. "As of today, I'm the new representative of Sextilis City on the Supreme Council, and Chairman of the Administrative Committee."

"We thought you'd like to know before we went public with this change," said Patrick. He sounded distinctly amused as he eyed the seemingly paralyzed ZAFT war hero. "Congratulations Commander Yamato. The first blemish on your record will be delaying your mother from taking her chair on the Supreme Council."

* * *

April 9th, Cosmic Era 70, Headquarters of the Azrael Conglomerate, New York City, Territory of the Atlantic Federation

"Damn him!" roared Muruta Azrael, furiously punching the television screen displaying the broadcast of that blasted Coordinator's heroism again! Wouldn't people ever get tired of this and see him for the abomination he was? Kira Yamato was even worse than most for all the evil sins he'd committed, starting with the destruction of those nukes that they'd been counting on to wipe out the PLANT agricultural facilities!

It had taken forever to reach this point! The death of George Glenn, spreading rumors of Coordinator responsibility in the S2 Influenza crisis, the destruction of Mendel, Mandelbrot, the blockade, taking control of those idiot nations that sponsored the PLANTs in the first place, and this damn upstart space monster was ruining everything! All fifty years of the blood, sweat and tears shed by the heroes of Blue Cosmos, and this beast was taking it and throwing it all away! Damn that creature!

And as if to top everything off, his mother, a _Natural_ was now on the Supreme Council! Media sympathy was going to those abominations, and more and more of those foolish people who claimed to be people of Earth were growing sympathetic, despite the atrocities the Coordinators had committed upon the true human race!

Azrael stalked furiously back to his desk, pressing the button he used to contact Lodonia. That space monster would pay for this!

The screen suddenly switched from displaying that monster to a blank screen. Azrael waited impatiently until, finally, the screen displayed the face of Doctor Christian Dahm.

"_Mr. Azrael…_" started Dahm, but Azrael cut him off.

"What's the progress of the Extended?" he demanded.

"_Well…_"

"We need to deploy them as soon as possible," said Azrael.

"_The soonest we can have them ready is about a year from now,_" replied Dahm.

"What? That's too long! What the hell are you people doing over there?" demanded Azrael.

"_The development of these weapons isn't easy,_" said Dahm. "_The first set ended up destroying themselves or being otherwise completely worthless. We're trying again, but if we're not careful, we'll just end up wasting money._"

"Fine," said Azrael through grit teeth. "Up the schedule as much as you can. We _need_ those weapons, since they've somehow managed to neutralize our nuclear capabilities."

"_Of course, Mr. Azrael,_" said Dahm. Azrael cut the transmission before letting out a cry of frustration.

Damn those space monsters!

* * *

April 11th, Cosmic Era 70, PLANT Sextilis One, Yamato Residence

The gathering was small, but warm, and the celebration two-fold: the success of the Battle of Carpentaria and Caridad's premature promotion to the Supreme Council. Those present included both Yamatos, Shiho, Lacus, Athrun, Rau and Reine. There were others who would've attended, but had other business to attend to, including Patrick, Lenore, Siegel, and the remainder of Kira's team.

"Mu La Flaga… he's a good man, and perhaps too good of a soldier," said Rau after dictating his match with the Earth Forces ace to the others. "He's a man of great integrity. I hate to think that we're enemies."

"Mmm, what would it be like to fly with these people during peacetime?" questioned Shiho.

"Wondrous, I suppose," interjected Reine.

"Yes," agreed Lacus. "To be flying together, as comrades, not as enemies. A world where people understood each other… wouldn't it be nice?"

"There's always hope for such a world," said Caridad with a soft smile.

"What about you, Kira?" asked Athrun. "What were things like… down there?"

"Pretty bad," said Kira. "The battle itself was horrible, but looking at the aftermath was far worse."

"Let's talk about something more cheerful," said Rau. "Tell me about your pilots."

Kira sighed, shaking his head slightly. "Defective, all of them." His tone made it clear he was joking. Shiho gave him a slight shove.

"Oh come on, only Kazuya is a problem," she said. "Thanos and Allan are pretty good, and Miyu's got a lot of potential."

"Oh? Do tell," said Rau, smirking.

"Yes, I want to hear all about the people my son works with," added Caridad. Kira let out a faint sigh.

* * *

April 12th, Cosmic Era 70, Taiyonoha Estate, Onogoro Island, Territory of the Orb Union

Makoto Michiru Taiyonoha delicately dipped the small brush into the paint, lifting it slowly and stroking it across the model she was working on, giving color to the wings.

Almost done. Just one more thing: the sword. Picking out her favorite color—violet—she decided to use that in combination with the silver, odd though it might be.

A student of Shinsei Tsurugi, Makoto had a fascination for martial battle. It was like art to her, and she shared this love with her father, Misuumi, and her cousins, Misuumi Hino Kamakura (named for her father) and Minako Rei Arata. Her father was actually her teacher, the last master of Shinsei Tsurugi, trained in the art by her great uncle, and he was also teaching her cousins.

This love of martial battle had evolved into a love for mobile suits—ZAFT's new weapon had returned martial prowess to the battlefield. She had various models of ZAFT's GINN set up on a shelf, all of them custom created. She'd been lucky enough to be allowed to study the GINNs Orb had managed to acquire, which were being reverse-engineered by Morgenroete for Orb's own military development. Although they didn't have a Natural-use OS, yet, there were still a fair number of Coordinators in their military who could pilot the powerful weapons.

Still, Coordinators only comprised maybe a twelfth of Orb's military, which was small, in spite of its strength. Makoto was thinking of volunteering, but doubted her mother would let her get away with it.

"There, done," she said, setting the brush down and admiring her finished work while the paint dried. The sword itself was mostly silver, but the sharp edges of the blade were a brilliant violet color. Smiling, she stood up to put away her paint supplies.

Makoto had become dissatisfied with the GINN models. But at the moment, there were no other machines for her to create miniatures of, and so, she'd chosen to create her own. Several of them, actually, on different philosophies, and of a design wholly different from the ZAFT machines.

"Hey, Mako-chan, what are you doing?" called Minako cheerfully, bursting through Makoto's door, Misuumi and two of Makoto's friends following behind at a much more calm pace.

"Minako, really," said Makoto. "Hi Misuumi, Sakura, Louisa."

The others all smiled at her lightly. Makoto glanced at her models. The paint was dry. Good.

"My models," she said, answering Minako's question. "What do you think?"

"They're beautiful," said Sakura, softly, leaning forward, reddish-pink hair falling over her shoulders and brushing against Makoto's own deep red hair.

"Yeah, works of art," said Louisa, leaning forward and studying one of them more closely. "Ah, are those dragon heads on its arms?"

"Yeah," said Makoto, smiling lightly.

"What do you call them?" asked Misuumi, studying a more slight, feminine-looking model.

"Hmmm, I haven't really thought about it," admitted Makoto, leaning back as her friends and cousins admired her work. In the hallway, several of the Taiyonoha adults, and Makoto's godmother, Sera Takara, were watching them, but Makoto failed to notice, focused on the models.

"How about Freedom-MS?" suggested Minako, admiring a model with a large gold sword attached to one shoulder, a cannon on the other.

"Actually, I think I have an idea," said Makoto, pushing everyone aside lightly. Pulling out a pen and paper, she wrote it out, and nodded, thinking it appropriate.

"Gun…" started Louisa.

"… dam?" finished Sakura.

"Yeah," said Makoto. "Gundam."

"Mobile Suit Gundam."

* * *

**Author's Notes: I couldn't help but put in that last part. For those of you who don't know, in _Gundam SEED Dauntless_, Makoto's aunt and uncle adopted her custom MS model for the basis of the machines they designed in conjunction with the Earth Forces at Heliopolis. When I had Serenity appear last chapter, I realized I wanted to show Makoto with those models. For the record, the models they were looking at were the Twilight (Louisa), Rose (Misuumi) and Astarte (Minako). The model with the sword that she'd just finished painting was the Angelus, the "original" Dauntless Gundam.**

**I also had her generate the name "Gundam" because I wanted it to be more than just a nickname. I wanted Gundam to truly be used by people to refer to these powerful mobile suits. In this way, it also provides reason for ZAFT to model their own Gundams after the ones they captured (which didn't make much sense in canon), as a symbol of power. "Freedom-MS" is actually a reference to the origin of the name "Gundam", which essentially derives from "Gun Freedom".**

**Moving on with the earlier parts of the chapter, I featured Caridad moving up to the council for several reasons: one is that it makes things simpler for me. Another is that, from an in-universe point of view, most people don't know that Caridad was a major designer for the N-jammer in this story, and Orson White is credited as the "head" of the project. His resignation can help to show the PLANTs regrets for their actions.**

**I give a pretty good overview of the Yamato Team itself, as well, and provide the first bit of real foreshadowing for this story, with the scenes of Azrael and, later on, Makoto. Both scenes have an impact on future events.**

**In any case, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a review, even if it's just letting me know that you're coming to spill my guts for taking so long to update. ^_^**

**Ja ne! Soon, hopefully...**


	6. Chapter 5: The Battle of Jachin Due

**It's been _months_ since I updated this, which is a shame since it's apparently one of my most popular stories. For that, I apologize, but again, this is a side project, and it's done better than some other stories.**

**Anyways, I kept struggling with various portions of this chapter, trying to figure out how to get each bit of it right. Most of it is one big battle scene, so that should satisfy any lusts for action among the readers. One thing to note is that ZAFT casualties are only mentioned in passing, because most of the ZAFT forces that actually get any focus are one's that were intended to survive. Were this an episode of the anime, you'd occasionally see cuts to mobile suits getting blown up. This is not an anime, this is a story made up of text, and shifting like that doesn't run quite so smoothly.**

**Anyways, I won't take up any more time with this other than the usual stuff posted at the top for each chapter. I talk more at the bottom.**

**Special Thanks to: Tellemicus Sundance for beta reading and reviewing this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. For the record, "standard disclaimers" on this story at the moment are "I do not own Gundam SEED or any of the associated characters or mecha. Any OCs in this chapter are mine". Because I assure you, they are, and it'll probably stay that way throughout this story. There's a tiny chance of characters from other authors getting a cameo, if they ask nicely. I won't place the disclaimer, and we can instead see how many people spot the cameos. ^_^ Well, unless you ask me nicely for a cameo and really want the disclaimer posted, desu.  
**

* * *

"_The Earth Forces have deployed their 5__th__ and 6__th__ Orbital Fleets from Ptolemaeus," explained the debriefing officer, Commander Kana Matthews. "Their target is quite clearly the PLANTs. But we're not going to stand for another attack on our homeland." The massive display screen behind Matthews suddenly switched from an overlay map of the Earth Sphere to a display of L5—the location of the PLANTs—and the moon. A dotted line showed the route of the two Earth Forces fleets._

"_As you can see, the enemy is currently moving the two fleets as a single force," said Matthews. "According to our Intel, the Earth Forces are running scared at this point. After being routed at the Battle of Carpentaria, they understand their numbers aren't nearly as effective as they'd originally expected. As such, rather than split apart and attack from two directions as standard tactics dictates, the two fleets are flying side-by-side, at least into L5, where they'll likely separate to hit as many targets as possible." She pulled out a pointer and indicated a single, small object on the map. The display zoomed in on it, and everyone present immediately recognized it._

"_This is Jachin Due, the primary resource satellite for the construction of the November and December Cities," said Matthews. "This is where we're going to intercept the Earth Forces. We'll push Jachin Due into their path, and when they try to go around, we'll have a surprise waiting for them." The Commander's eyes swept over the gathering. "Commander Yamato!"_

"_Ma'am!" replied Kira, standing up and saluting crisply. Matthews returned the salute._

"_You're team is to be our spearhead," she said evenly. "As well as our bait. The Earth Forces won't be able to resist a shot at the Yamato Team."_

"_Understood ma'am," said Kira. Matthews nodded, sweeping her eyes over the rest of them._

"_You'll be receiving precise coordinates and orders tomorrow," she said. "Get into position within twenty-four of the transmission. And remember: __**you**__ are the first line of defense for the PLANTs against this attack. We're counting on you. Dismissed."_

"_Ma'am!"_

**

* * *

**

April 17th, Cosmic Era 70, Vicinity of the Resource Satellite Jachin Due, Bridge of the _Philosopher_

Kira sighed slightly; reclining in the flag seat as he stared out at the two massive Earth Forces fleets now on approach. The _Philosopher_ was flanked by a paltry two vessels, the _Gamow_ and the _Natta_, which still left Kira with two other top gun teams, the Le Creuset and Salara Teams at his side.

Three frigates, one of which would no doubt be quickly identified as Kira's flag. That would bring the entirety of the Earth Forces fleets right down on top of them—_hard_.

But Kira wasn't too terribly worried by the prospect of his own death—only by the possibility of failure and the consequences for the PLANTs. But it wouldn't come to that, either—even if the fleet commanders recognized the ambush, which Kira had no doubt they would, the Earth Forces had awakened a sleeping giant in the form of ZAFT and the citizens of the PLANTs who volunteered for the paramilitary organization. Their numbers were far greater than even two weeks ago, when the Battle of Carpentaria was fought, and Kira had been personally witness to just how extreme the instructors were—those newbie pilots that survived would be like Earth Forces veterans by the time this battle was brought to a close.

Kira let out a sigh, standing up. "I'm launching," he said. "Captain Jonathon, you have the bridge."

"Yes sir."

A few minutes later and Kira pulled himself into the cockpit of his CGUE. To his own surprise, he'd actually forgone his pilot suit. Usually a symptom of someone getting cocky but, somehow, Kira knew that wasn't the case here. What was it that made him forgo that pilot suit? Oh, hell, he'd figure it out later. Instead, Kira focused on something of more immediate interest: the CGUEs around him.

After the success of their last mission, the Yamato Team had been immediately assigned the next five combat capable CGUEs off the production line. Less than a dozen of the machines had been deployed, and of those, a half-dozen were in the hands of the Yamato Team. Following their commander's lead, each pilot had custom-colored their machine with white limbs, heads, legs and lower torso, while the upper torso was a color specific to each—deep blue with black trim for Shiho, dark red with blue trim for Miyu, icy blue with red trim for Kazuya, forest green with gold trim for Allan and dark grey with orange trim for Thanos. At the suggestion of Lacus, Kira had also added a distinctive emblem to the left shoulder of his machine: the PLANT-like emblem of ZAFT with a single feathered wing attached, spiraling and wrapping down around the PLANT as though to protect and conceal the Coordinator homeland. His teammates had appreciated it, and the emblem had been applied to all of their machines as well.

As Kira ran through his preflight checks and start-up, he opened the comm. line with his pilots.

"How do the CGUEs look?" he asked, moving his machine onto the catapult.

"_Feels just fine to me,_" said Shiho. "_Cockpit layout's almost the same as the GINN. The real trick will be getting used to the improvements in actual combat._"

"_This machine… it feels __**right**__,_" said Miyu. "_Like… I don't know, like this is where I'm supposed to be._" Kira held his breath for a moment, wondering if Kazuya would speak up, but Miyu's brother remained silent, and he let out the breath slowly.

"_Commander Yamato, the enemy fleet's are deploying mobile armors,_" said Julia. "_You are go for launch._"

"Roger that," said the Commander. "Kira Yamato, CGUE, launching!" With that, Kira punched the controls, and his CGUE rocketed away.

"_Shiho Hahnenfuss, CGUE, launching!_"

"_Miyu Sakamoto, CGUE, I'm taking off!_"

"_Thanos Sho, CGUE, heading out!_"

"_Allan Reagan, CGUE, here I go!_"

"_Kazuya Nonomura, CGUE, sortieing!_"

The six CGUEs shot away from the carriers. They were charging straight into a certified suicide mission… Kira couldn't help but grin.

"Alright team, let's show them what we're made of!" said Kira as a horde of Moebius armors charged at them, vulcans blazing. The six mobile suits broke apart into groups of two—Kira and Shiho, Miyu and Thanos, and Allan and Kazuya. Then, to the surprise of the mobile armor pilots, the six CGUEs did what seemed like the most idiotic thing possible: they dove straight into the horde of Moebiuses.

"_What the…? What the hell are they doing?_"

"_Doesn't matter! That's Yamato's machine! GET HIM!_"

Back at Jachin Due, Rau launched in his CGUE, the rest of his team following suit, but they merely took up a defensive screen as the masked man grinned in the direction of the explosions.

"Friendly fire isn't," he commented lightly.

Indeed, that was exactly what was happening in that melee—the ZAFT pilots weren't doing much more than dodging left and right, while the Earth Forces pilots repeatedly gunned one another down under friendly fire. They were clustered far too closely together, and a few were quick to realize this.

"_Damn it, hold your fire!_" shouted Lieutenant Cynthia Andrews. "_Break from the enemy! We can't get a clear shot like this!_"

Everyone recognized that and followed the order, breaking apart, but not before the Yamato Team elites had gunned down at least twice their number of mobile armors.

As soon as the way was clear, they went charging straight at the Earth Forces fleets. The bulk of the mobile armors turned to follow…

And from Jachin Due, a massive barrage of missiles and beams lit the void of space.

"This is Rau Le Creuset to all forces in L-field," called the ZAFT Commander. "Cover one another's backs, keep an eye open for friendly fire and commence counterattack!"

"_Is it really a counterattack if the enemy's been on the defensive from the start?_" questioned Commander Salara, her tone mild. Rau grinned.

"Probably not, but it sounds better," he said, spearheading the formation as he led the ZAFT forces into battle with the mobile armors.

It was a slaughter: the advantage belonged firmly to the mobile suits—they had thicker armor, more powerful thrusters, and AMBACs support going for them against the mobile armors. They had a far greater ammo capacity, and even if they ran dry, they could move into melee range and cut up the enemy with their swords. The Moebiuses weren't nearly so well off, and friendly fire was lethal to them, but usually only a minor inconvenience for ZAFT, especially since the Coordinators could recognize when they were accidentally shooting the wrong target and stop much faster than the Naturals could.

Meanwhile, the Yamato Team charged straight at the enemy warships. They weren't equipped with the firepower necessary to really deal with them, though they could certainly take out a few easily enough.

"Find the _Jackson_ and the _Preble_," ordered Kira. "Those two are the top priority targets."

"_Yes sir!_" With that, the three wing pairs broke apart, hunting out the two flagships. The warships fired barrage after barrage at the six white CGUEs, but they'd been built with ship-to-ship combat in mind, not mobile suits, and it wasn't difficult for the six to dodge fire and draw missiles into enemy ships.

Backup was quick to arrive as well, spearheaded by Miguel Aiman in his newly customized orange GINN, with Heine Westenfluss on his left and Yuhiko Kajima on his right. Behind them came Hilde Harkin, Herbert Von Reinhardt and Mars Simeon, each armed with a battery of heavy weapons.

"Support Commander Yamato and his team," ordered Miguel, though he wasn't a superior to any of the others—in fact, Heine and Yuhiko were both Redcoats while he was a Green. But in ZAFT, details like that were secondary.

"_Already going to work,_" said Hilde, opening fire on the bridge of a _Nelson_ with her Barrus ion cannon while her newly appointed wingmen blasted apart another battleship and two escort ships.

"_The Earth Forces still haven't figured out a way to provide a challenge without piling enough bodies on us to bury Everest,_" added Yuhiko, her blue GINN twisting through cannon fire from a _Nelson_. She appeared right in front of the bridge; rifle aimed at the captain, and opened fire. Not pretty, but it did the job.

"_This is Thanos, we've located the __**Preble**__._"

"Good," said Kira. "Take it out!"

"_Roger!_"

**

* * *

**

Miyu wasted no time in charging forward, machinegun blazing as she shot out the _Preble_'s engines. Fire from the Igelstellung poured out, but she managed to pull away before the furious hail of bullets could inflict any real damage.

"Those guns are a pest," she said through grit teeth.

"_Allow me,_" replied Thanos, taking aim and firing on one of the CIWS guns. Miyu followed her wing's lead, and started shooting out other CIWS. The _Preble_ and surrounding vessels opened up with everything they had, but the two aces ducked against the carrier's catapults, and fire let up immediately—it was a rather notorious vulnerability for the _Agamemnon_-class, one ZAFT pilots had no problem exploiting.

"Hmmm… Thanos, how thick do you think the armor over the catapult is?" questioned Miyu lightly. Her wingman laughed in response as the silver-brunette drew her sword and stabbed it into the catapult.

Elsewhere, Kira easily wove through enemy phalanx fire with superhuman reflexes, but it was taking everything Shiho had just to keep up! Kira was unbelievable, the best pilot out there, and it showed clearly now as he closed in on the _Nelson_'s bridge tower and cut it free from the rest of the ship.

But when as horribly outnumbered and outgunned as they were right now, Kira was relentless—the bridge tower crashed right back into the ship itself, setting off explosions throughout as Kira led Shiho through the enemy fleet, evading fire the whole way. A Moebius, the pilot either very brave or very stupid, shot off to try and intercept him and was swatted effortlessly aside to crash into a _Drake_-class escort ship.

"There it is," said Kira, catching sight of the _Jackson_, flagship of the 6th Orbital Fleet. "Shiho, cover me!"

"_Roger that,_" replied Shiho, shooting down a trio of missiles launched Kira's way as the ZAFT Commander charged forward. The _Jackson_'s CIWS opened up, pouring out bullets by the tens of thousands, filling space… but, impossibly, Kira pulled ahead of the bullets, evading the auto-tracking. Shiho's eyes widened with the same shock—though not horror—as the _Jackson_'s bridge crew at the impossibility of that feat.

"What _is_ he?" murmured Vice Admiral Nelson Sider, knowing they would be his last words as the CGUE appeared in front of the bridge, outside the firing arc of the CIWS, machinegun leveled at the bridge. The mono-eye of the ZAFT mobile suit flashed brightly, and Kira pulled the trigger.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile, Miyu finished slicing a hole large enough for her CGUE through the _Preble_'s port catapult, Thanos gunning down any mobile armors and missiles that came their way.

"I can take it from here," said Miyu. "I'll be back in just a moment."

"_Heh._"

Miyu didn't waste any time, crashing through the catapult doors, exposing the _Preble_'s massive hangar to the vacuum of space and sending the occupants flying out with the air. The young Redcoat struggled slightly against the pressure, but it didn't last long, and she was in. The few mechanics remaining could only stare in horror at the sixty-foot war machine now in the hangar of their ship. Miyu took a quick look around, hefted her rifle, and opened fire on everything in sight.

Outside, Thanos broke away from the _Preble_ and closed with an Earth Forces escort ship, pulling out of the firing arc of the Igelstellung and retaliating with fire from below. Soon, he emptied an entire clip into the escort ship, and pulled away as fuel and ammunition ignited, blowing the _Drake_-class into so much space dust.

Fires spread throughout the _Preble_… and then, a sword shot up from the base of the bridge tower, and began to drag its way around the tower, cutting a hole right beneath it. Then, bullets ripped through it, the entire tower was punched off the ship, and Miyu's CGUE emerged from the smoking husk.

"_Alright, how many decks did you just smash?_" asked Thanos, pulling up alongside her over the dead warship.

"Wasn't counting," said Miyu. "Commander Yamato, the _Preble_ has been eliminated."

"_Good work,_" said Kira. "_Allan and Kazuya are pinned down. I'm sending you the coordinates. Think you can lend a hand?_"

"_With pleasure,_" said Thanos.

**

* * *

**

As Kira had said, the last two members of the Yamato Team were pinned down by heavy fire from a half-dozen _Drake_s that were pouring fire on them from their vulcans while they hid behind the wreckage of a _Nelson_.

"I could've sworn they'd stop firing on us here," said Allan. "Damn it, don't they care about the people that might still be alive on this battleship?"

"_Apparently not,_" said Kazuya coolly. "_We can't keep hiding forever. A __**Nelson**__ is approaching, twenty klicks starboard._"

"Oh, great," muttered Allan, glancing that way. The battleship was just beginning to peak over the hull of the wreckage when it suddenly detonated. "What the–?"

"_Hey boys, mind if I play?_" came the voice of Yuhiko Kajima, her blue GINN rushing forward. The escort ships quickly began maneuvering to bring their vulcans to bear on this new threat, but then, fire came in from behind, several bullets pinging a few vulcans each and destroying them.

"_Looks like relief has arrived,_" said Kazuya, pulling under the wrecked battleship that would likely be exploding itself in another minute or two. "_Let's go!_"

"Yeah, yeah, keep your shirt on," said Allan, pulling over the top and opening fire blindly—but, while those hundred and thirty-meter warships were absolutely _miniscule_ within the vastness of space, they were so close that it didn't matter.

With fire now pouring in from five mobile suits in different directions, it wasn't much of a surprise when one _Drake_, then another, went up in flames. They were small, had weak structures, and more explosives than any other modern warship, having been designed before the advent of beam weapons.

Two minutes later and the remaining escort ships exploded with only minor damage (mostly—Thanos's suit lost an arm) suffered by the five ZAFT pilots who proceeded to blast their way out of the fleet formation.

**

* * *

**

"All forces, regroup at L-field," ordered Kira, pulling back, snapping off several shots with his machinegun, downing three more mobile armors.

The rest of the pilots followed orders, pulling back from the Earth Forces fleet while covering each other's back. The enemy fleets had fallen into a state of disarray with the fall of their flagships. Kira started cycling his comm. through standard Earth Forces frequencies, looking for the one the enemy was using…

"_What do you mean all command vessels have been destroyed you idiot?_" cried a female mobile armor pilot (Cynthia Andrews, not that Kira knew that). "_Figure out the next most competent officer and put him in charge!_"

"_You're a mobile armor pilot, bitch, command isn't your job!_" snapped a male voice. There was a lot of other chatter, but Kira tuned most of it out.

"_Yeah I'm a pilot and even __**I**__ know what needs to be done!_" snapped the Moebius pilot. "_This battle's pointless, we can't win!_"

"_Our orders are clear!_" snapped another voice, this one much deeper and older than the previous two. "_All ships and mobile armors, resume the attack!_"

Kira shook his head, switching back to ZAFT frequencies. "Here they come," he said as many of the mobile armors charged forward like a horde of locusts, the warships right on their tail. The ZAFT mobile suits raised their machineguns and opened fire, Kira glancing around, taking stock of his team. He spotted the damage to Thanos's CGUE.

"Thanos, pull back to the _Philosopher_," he ordered.

"_Roger!_"

"_But Commander, what about Miyu?_" questioned Kazuya. Kira grit his teeth slightly in annoyance, avoiding a shot from a mobile armor's linear gun and returning the favor with his machinegun, pinpoint accuracy peppering the machine with holes.

"Everyone, form up," ordered Kira. "Shiho and Miyu on my left, Allan and Kazuya on my right."

"_A five-suit formation?_" questioned Allan, doing as ordered.

"Yeah…" said Kira. "We're gonna drive a wedge straight through the heart of the Earth Forces fleets and right out the back!" Kira charged forward, his team taking up their appropriate positions in the five-man formation. "For ZAFT!"

Kira leveled his machinegun and opened fire, his teammates doing the same mere seconds later.

Straight down the heart of the combined Earth Forces fleets, the Yamato Team cut down everything they came across with a hail of vicious gunfire. They didn't break or head off to the sides, instead only focusing on what was ahead of them and in their peripheral.

The sown destruction spoke for itself as, only a moment later, they broke out the back of the Earth Forces lines with nothing more than minor damage to show for their reckless charge.

"Keep the formation together," said Kira. "We're gonna cut off the enemy's left flank now. Let's go!"

**

* * *

**

Back near Jachin Due, Yuhiko shook her head in amazement. The Yamato Team was demonstrating both incredible recklessness and incredible power for both sides. With just a few attacks, those half-dozen mobile suits (less now) had practically inflicted more damage than the rest of the ZAFT forces combined.

"That's an impressive unit," she commented, dodging three missiles and gunning down her assailant.

"_Kira Yamato is the ultimate ace pilot,_" said Rau, slipping under a charging Moebius and its vulcans, raising his sword and letting the mobile armor slice itself in half on the weapon. "_And he can bring out even the most deeply buried talent and breathe new life into it._"

"_He's special alright,_" agreed Sahala, firing her Barrus on two mobile armors in quick succession. "_That man… he'll win us this war. I'm sure of it._"

As the three spoke, the Yamato Team broke from the Earth Forces fleets again. This time, they'd suffered a little more damage, Miyu's unit losing one of its thrusters to an attack by a mobile armor.

"Miyu, head back to the _Philosopher_," ordered Kira. "You've done enough."

"_Yes sir,_" said Miyu, pulling away and gunning straight for their flagship. However, a Moebius pilot spotted Miyu, turning to fire its missiles her way. The young Redcoat growled, gunning the missiles down with her machinegun before peppering the offending mobile armor with bullets.

"Take out the remaining enemy ships and this battle will be over," said Kira.

"_Sir? How do you intend to do that?_" questioned Allan. Kira smirked, glancing at the display screen showing Allan's face.

"Simple," he said. "Rau, take charge of Allan and Kazuya for me. Shiho, I want you to cover me. I'm gonna break the enemy, one officer at a time."

"_Okay Kira, but are you sure of that?_" asked Shiho.

"Trust me," said Kira.

"_We do Kira,_" said Rau. "_Everyone cut down the enemy mobile armors! Don't let a single one near Commander Yamato's unit! For ZAFT!_"

"_For ZAFT!_" echoed many, _many_ voices, shocking Kira.

"This is…"

"_Kira… don't let them down,_" said Shiho.

"… Roger that," said Kira, a strange serenity coming over him as he charged forward, cycling over to the Earth Forces comm. frequency he'd discovered earlier. Kira Yamato dodged one attack after another, evading the sights of the Igelstellungs as he peppered one ship after another with bullets. Shiho was struggling with everything she had to keep up and was still falling behind.

Then, Kira suddenly spun about and fired on the bridge of a _Nelson_, blasting the bridge crew into space as he shattered the viewport. The fleets fell a bit further into disarray, and then Kira heard someone else taking charge after the way he'd dealt with the previous commander, and tracked him down through the comm. trace he'd designed his OS to perform.

A Moebius opened fire on Kira's CGUE, but the Coordinator pilot dodged the shot and blasted a single bullet at the Moebius in return, the three-inch round piercing the armor and blasting straight through the forehead of the Moebius pilot, leaving the mobile armor drifting. Kira spun about, trying to sense the presence of the man now commanding these fleets.

On the other side of the entire fleet, through a hail of fire and battling mobile weapons, he spotted a single _Nelson_-class battleship, and leveled his rifle.

"_Kira? What are you…?_" started Shiho, but then, Kira snapped off a single burst of three bullets, each trailing in the wake of the one before it.

In space, once something got moving, there were two ways to slow it down or stop it: reverse thrust, if it was capable of such, or connecting with a solid object. This meant there was theoretically no true range limit on weapons in space, but beyond certain ranges, a weapon could be easily evaded, and there was, of course, the limit to the actual aiming abilities of the pilot.

The shot Kira had just taken should've been impossible.

But the three bullets sped unseen through the battlefield, missing mobile suits and mobile armors by mere inches at times to arrive at their target, punching through the side armor of the battleship's bridge, where the three-inch slugs tore through the body of the ship's captain.

This left the ship's crew dumbstruck for a moment… long enough for a pair of GINNs to blast it into so much space dust.

And once again, the Earth Forces command structure fell into chaos.

**

* * *

**

Near the _Philosopher_, Miyu had disobeyed orders and joined several other pilots in defending the ships from about two dozen mobile armors that had broken through and were attempting to strike the more vulnerable frigates.

"I'm not letting sink even one ship you bastards!" cried Miyu, ducking under fire from one Moebius as its vulcans spat hot lead her way, shield leveled and returning the favor in spades. She spun about, leveling her rifle and piercing two more mobile armors with the large bullets. A Moebius shot up behind her, the pilot beginning to pull the trigger for his linear gun…

And then, suddenly, Miyu spun about, throwing her sword like a spear, and with no gravity to affect its flight, that's exactly how it worked, stabbing through the mobile armor without effort.

Then it was over, and the mobile armors near the ships were gone.

**

* * *

**

Allan blasted apart his… what? Sixteenth, maybe seventeenth mobile armor? He'd lost track in all the chaos, and his breathing was heavy… Coordinator or not, he had his limits, and the battle was starting to push his endurance.

Allan spun about, firing on a formation of mobile armors. The stalwart pilots maintained their formation and opened fire, Allan jerking left and right to evade. Suddenly, his proximity alarm sounded and he spun about to look into the barrel of a Moebius linear gun… only to have Kazuya suddenly shoulder check the mobile armor before pumping it full of bullets.

"Thanks Kazuya," he said. The older man didn't reply, simply continuing to gun down enemy mobile armors, Allan also returning to the task at hand.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile, Kira emptied his last clip into another battleship, destroying it and once again taking out the fleet commander.

"We're withdrawing to the _Philosopher_," he said to Shiho, pulling about and heading back to his flagship.

"_Understood,_" said Shiho, hot on his tail. A mobile armor pulled into their path in an attempt to intercept them, but Kira dodged its fire and cut off the engines before Shiho had even finished leveling her rifle. Kira grabbed the mobile armor and dragged it along with him, stabbing out both vulcans and snapping the linear gun as he did so.

"_Kira?_" questioned Shiho.

"No reason to kill her," he said simply.

"_Her?_"

The question almost gave Kira pause. How did he know that? And what was the feeling that told him to capture her? But he shook it off, and continued onward.

In the Moebius that Kira had captured, Cynthia leaned back with a soft sigh. Just her luck…

**

* * *

**

Rau was running low on ammo himself. He'd also lost track of how many mobile armors he'd gunned down, he simply knew he'd shot up enough targets to run through all the clips for his rifle and reduce him to his shield vulcan and sword. He also had some bad news to deliver to Kira soon, but right now, he was hard-pressed with three mobile armors gunning for him relentlessly, his exhaustion now catching up with him.

Then, relief came from the most unexpected place: the Earth Forces vessels started firing off retreat flares. The Moebiuses hesitated, and Rau decided not to take the opportunity, instead waiting… and then, the three turned and gunned back for the fleets.

Rau sighed in relief, then started to take stock of the situation, and realized _why_ the Earth Forces were fleeing: there were now only about three dozen more mobile armors than mobile suits, and the gathered ZAFT fleet actually _outnumbered_ the remaining ships of the combined Fifth and Sixth Fleets.

"_The enemy's retreating?_" came Kira's voice suddenly.

"Yes," said Rau. "We've won. Thanks in no small part to you and your team."

"_We were just doing our part, just like it's always been,_" said Kira. Rau smiled slightly, but there was a tightness to it that Kira didn't see.

"Of course," he said. "Just like you. But Kira… I'm afraid I have some bad news for you."

"_Bad news?_" There was uncertainty in Kira's voice.

"Yes," said Rau softly. "In the final moments of the battle, Kazuya Nonomura's CGUE was destroyed."

Rau heard a small gasp over the radio, and could only assume it had come from Miyu.

"I'm sorry," he said. "Allan's unit is damaged, but functional, and he's unharmed. He's on his way back now."

"_I see,_" said Kira softly, a slight tightness to his voice. He'd dealt with death before, but on this occasion, it was much more personal for someone in his team. Rau sympathized, though there was nothing he could do to help.

**

* * *

**

Orb Union, Athha Estate

"_In a second ceremony broadcast throughout the world in his honor, Commander Kira Yamato of ZAFT was awarded the organization's highest honor, the Order of the Nebula, for the second time, in honor of his performance at a battle earlier today in the vicinity of the former resource satellite Jachin Due,_" said the anchorwoman as the medal was pinned on Kira's chest.

Cagalli, dressed in only her nightgown, sat on her bed, holding her legs in front of her as she watched the broadcast, focusing in particular on Kira. The brunet intrigued her, for reasons beyond his incredible abilities, reasons she couldn't fathom, and she was dead set on trying to figure out the mystery.

"_In his first skirmish at the Battle of Lagrange 5, Commander Yamato defeated thirty-nine mobile armors and four warships,_" continued the anchorwoman. "_Including a force known to be readying a strike on a civilian target, earning him the Order of the Nebula for the first—but clearly not last—time. The ZAFT military has been very open with information regarding Commander Yamato's performance earlier today, with the reports claiming that he shot down over sixty mobile armors and is responsible for the destruction of at least a quarter that many battleships and carriers, a level of effectiveness cited to be on par or superior to an entire ZAFT squadron._"

The camera now shifted to the Yamato Team, which drew a disappointed sigh from Cagalli, and the blonde paused briefly, wondering why that was before brushing it off as her desire to know why Kira Yamato intrigued her.

"_However, the battle was not without losses for ZAFT and for the Yamato Team personally as well,_" said the newswoman. "_Kazuya Nonomura of the Yamato Team was shot down towards the end of the battle, after allegedly defeating over thirty mobile armors and six battleships and escort vessels. His sister, Miyu Sakamoto, also of the Yamato Team, accepted his award of the Order of the Nebula alongside her own. In fact, all members of the Yamato Team were rewarded with the Order of the Nebula, and these pilots who can only be described as ZAFT's personal White Angels are credited with almost single-handedly turning the tide of battle in ZAFT's favor, allowing it to be brought to a swift end._"

The camera focus shifted back to Kira, focusing on his face and giving a very clear view of his handsome features and kind but intense violet eyes.

Cagalli blushed as she realized where her thoughts about the brunet were going, quickly shaking it off and turning off the TV.

"What am I thinking?" she muttered to herself.

**

* * *

**

Onogoro Island, Taiyonoha Estate

Cagalli wasn't the only Orb Princess watching the broadcast in her room dressed in only a nightie. Makoto herself was doing the same, fascinated by the Yamato Team in general, and Kira Yamato in particular.

He was a master mobile suit pilot, completely unparalleled, ZAFT's poster boy and ultimate symbol. Makoto admired that with every fiber of her being. There was a smile on her lips as the news broadcast continued, going into further detail (as far as it had been supplied, at least) of the Yamato Team's performance.

"White Angels, huh? Then I guess that would make you the Angel Lord, wouldn't it, Kira Yamato?" murmured Makoto with a slight giggle before getting off her bed and stepping over to the table. She was working on another mobile suit model, letting her hands do the work on their own, unconcerned regarding realism.

And now she suddenly knew what she wanted from this next model: something worthy of the man who led ZAFT's 'White Angels'.

**

* * *

**

Aprilius One

After the ceremony, Kira had sent his pilots home, telling Miyu to go ahead and take a few days off. The suddenly very meek young Redcoat had simply nodded and whispered a soft confirmation before heading to the spaceport to catch a shuttle to Aprilius Nine, where she lived with her parents.

Now, it was just Kira and Shiho, heading to the spaceport to catch their own flights back to Sextilis One, to which Shiho, an orphan, had recently moved for conveniences sake.

Caridad had given Kira a sad smile before being ushered back into Council Chambers. Like Kira, she spent most of her time busy these days, which was no surprise when she was the Chairwoman of the Administrative Committee, at least until next year's elections were held and settled everything, including whether or not she stayed on the Council at all (not that anyone had any doubt that she would).

As such, Kira would be alone at his house today. Well, unless…

"Would you like to come over to my house for dinner?" he asked Shiho as they pulled up to the central shaft transport center. Shiho turned a surprised eye to him.

"Why Kira… are you asking me out on a date?" she questioned.

"I'm pretty sure you traditionally eat out on dates," said Kira before shrugging. "Not how I thought of it, but if you want to look at it that way…"

"I'm joking," said Shiho, smiling slightly as they got out of the car. "I'd love too. It's better than spending the night alone."

* * *

**Author's Notes: It's not overly long. I didn't feel the need for it to be. If I'd shown every point of the battle, it could've gone on for as much as five times the current length, and I'm not gonna put in that much effort for something that could be interesting, but ultimately too time consuming to be worthwhile. I'll your imaginations fill it in.**

**Anyways, it was my intent from the beginning that someone from the Yamato Team would die in this battle. I considered Miyu, but ultimately decided to use Kazuya. You all probably expected him to be the first to go, and for once, I decided to go with the expected instead of aiming for the unexpected. That isn't to say I don't have surprises waiting for you, but you'll have to wait for them.**

**Oh, and I ended up lying about Makoto not appearing again. At the moment, I think she's going to be making appearances every once in a while, to provide a different sort of POV, but her role will remain purely narrative in nature until at least Heliopolis. I'd also like an opinion: should Makoto get a bigger role later on (I assure you, Kira will always remain the focus, and Makoto is only an ordinary Coordinator/"Newtype"/SEED-bearer, not the subject of any sort of experiment), or should she continue in this style of providing a third part POV?**

**As for that bit with Cagalli—Yes, she's developing a crush on her twin brother. Don't give me that look, I know a lot of people shipped those two before the real relation between them was even hinted at, and logically speaking, it would actually be very natural for them to be attracted to one another when they meet. Look up the Westermarck Effect and Genetic Sexual Attraction to learn more. Cagalli has no idea of her real relation to Kira, and doesn't think there's anything wrong with being attracted to him outside of feeling that any involvement could be bad for Orb (and when has _anything_ stopped Cagalli? I'm talking the real, blonde spitfire, not the meek girly girl-wannabe of SEED Destiny).**

**Also, I'm reconsidering the possibility of a Kira-Shiho pairing, if for no other reason than because this story presents my greatest window for alternative pairings. It's still probably gonna end up with Kira x Lacus. And for those who bitch about it being wrong because of Lacus's engagement to Athrun, let me remind you that those two never cared about each other that way, the engagement was something between their parents, and none of the parents in question would hesitate for more than half a second before breaking it off if that's what their children wanted. And if you want to look at it from a political standpoint, which do you think would be more "joyous" (as I believe Rau once put the engagement) for the people of the PLANTs: a marriage between their idol and the son of their military leader, or a marriage between their idol and their greatest hero?**

**Anyways, enough of my ranting there. I had a lot of fun with all of this, but now, I have some other matters to attend too while I wait for word on _Dark Angel of Freedom_, which will probably be updated soon. And, just for the record, yes, I'm struggling with _SEED Serenity_ a little. I don't have much in the way of decent material (if any) to work on for that chapter.**

**Alright, enough. This story has by far the highest reviews-per-chapter ratio, and I'd like to see that kept up. I love all the reviews this story gets, and hope to see plenty more. With any luck, I'll be able to pull things together more easily in the future, and we'll get to the real meat of this story.**

**For now, though, please review.**

**Say****ōnara, desu! ^_^  
**


	7. Status Update Announcement

**Hello everyone. First off, I would just like to apologize for my lengthy absence—I started having various computer troubles late last year, and this year has been quite hectic. In addition to that, I've been working on a, let's say "special", fanfiction project, and I'm only about two-thirds of the way done with the preparations for its release. I've entered difficult waters with it, so getting through it has been harder and taken longer than I'd originally anticipated when I basically suspended all other activity to work on it.**

**With that said, I'm here to appease all of you, but let's start with the bad news.**

_**Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Divinity**_** is dead. I have a variety of reasons for it, among them the general sue-ness of the Taiyonoha Family (even though I planned to **_**really**_** smack all of them around in **_**Divinity**_** proper), but more than that is the fact that this started off as somebody else's work when you get down to it… and I retained too many things that I shouldn't have for my iteration. As such, I'm planning to reboot the Divinity Saga (though the "original canon" may still receive updates in the form of one-shot sidestories under the **_**Divinity Saga**_** story). I have two ideas for this: one starts at the beginning as a rewrite of Gundam SEED; the concept here is possibly the darkest thing I have ever written (seriously, you think canon SEED, Victory, Zeta or any of my stories have been dark with high body counts? They've got **_**nothing**_** on this concept). The other idea replaces SEED Destiny, but has background departures from the canon SEED that would be revealed throughout the course of the story. In all likelihood, neither would receive a sequel, although the latter might receive a prequel rewrite of SEED itself if enough people call for it. I'm curious to know which one people are more interested in.**

**Next, some good news: **_**Mobile Suit Gundam Eternity**_** shall live again! The current post will be marked as "**_**Gundam Eternity: First Draft**_**" and remain up as is; the new version will have a less intense opening, significantly fewer characters and some changes to preexisting characters and systems. It would actually open with a chapter roughly covering the first ten months of the war, from the Tragedy of Copernicus up to the start of the Round Table operation, with a somewhat odd format of snippets from the different characters over the course of this—people watching news reports, people attending the military academies, bits of strategic planning, journal entries, even things like newspaper clippings (as much as can be achieved at least). Events that take place within this chapter might later receive a story of their own (I have a conceptual prequel covering Sakura's time on the frontlines going from grunt to Mobile Force Commander), but regardless, I'm looking forward to taking another crack at this story, and I'm also gonna do a more "open" story, actively inviting others to write their own stories within the same setting or even actively create characters and write out stories for them; if possible, I want to make **_**Gundam Eternity**_** a somewhat grand community project, if you will. We'll see what happens, and if you're interested in this idea/participating, please contact me.**

**Finally, there's one other prospective project on the table. I don't want to say too much about it, other than that it's a "standalone" Gundam SEED fic (there will be no prequels or sequels, and at most one-shot sidestories) that I'm supposed to be writing with a partner in a co-authored project. This is dependent on us getting the time to talk though, and neither of us has had much time lately.**

**Now that I've gone and gotten all your hopes up, I must destroy them: this is not a sign I'll be returning to the old, frequent updates and new writings that I used to do. I'm not; I don't have the free time I did when I was a kid (though what I've lost in time I think I've made up in improved quality), and I'm going to start college classes soon; obviously, this is going to eat up a lot of time. At this point, my goal is to try and release at least one update a week once things get settled in, so it may be a few more weeks before you actually see me release anything.**

**However, for all of that, I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm not dead. I'm still writing, even if it's not as much as I used to be, and part of that is just attempts to meet my own higher standards for quality as anything, as well as a frustration with myself for letting so many projects get going. To make things a bit clearer there, included is a list of my stories and their status/my plans for them. Not all of you read all these stories, but here's a status update on everything anyways.**

**Cheers –**

**Maileesaeya****.**

_**Mobile Suit Gundam Eternity**_**: As mentioned above, this story is to be redrafted into a new form. That may be sometime off though, as I don't want to put too many projects on my plate at once.**

_**Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Divinity**_**: Also as mentioned above, this story is officially dead, and two potential reboots are in the works for it.**

_**Naruto: A New Path**_**: This story is still being worked on; it's just that the next chapter or two are very difficult to write as they complete my thrashing of canon.**

_**Naruto: Bloodlines**_**: This is also still being worked on, but I'm probably cutting out most of the original arc I'd had planned and then will be going through to the equivalent end to Part I. In all likelihood, that will be the end of it, with no sequel or other continuation into Part II, leaving it to the readers' imaginations (or letting someone pick up the project if they're interested).**

_**Naruto: Twilight Legend**_**: Dead. D, E, A, D, Dead. I don't even know what I was thinking anymore, so unless someone's interested in taking over, that's the last you'll hear of this story from me.**

_**Naruto: Tale of the Kitsune**_**: Alive! I know, shocking, but I actually do have some interesting plans for this story, it's just on hold like everything else. Besides, the existing chapters are a little sporadic and unfocused, so I want to go through and clean them up; some of the characterizations, in particular, need work.**

_**Dark Angel of Freedom**_**: Also alive, to an extent. I'm trying to rework the early chapters some and revise things in general to line up more with what the final concept ended up becoming.**

_**Sakura's Rebirth**_**: No real change in status beyond "this is not as easy as it's supposed to be".**

_**Divinity Saga**_**: The only part of the original Divinity Saga that's likely to survive, telling sidestories within the setting. This will probably be the only place you see any evidence of how the story was supposed to conclude.**

_**Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Serenity**_**: Old shame for me, the part that killed the setting more than anything else. Still, I don't truly regret it; it was fun to write and some of the battles were still marvelous in my opinion, so this will be untouched.**

_**Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: Soldier of ZAFT**_**: I think you can all guess at it, but this story is dead. I might return to the concept at some future point, but if I do, I'll be rewriting what's already there. (though Cagalli's problematic attraction to Kira will remain)**

_**Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Dauntless**_**: Not as ashamed of this one as **_**Serenity**_** above; it's to be left alone.**

**EDIT: There's a poll up on my page now to vote for your preferred reboot of the Divinity Saga. Please cast the vote now!**


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